Two ships with Azerbaijani sailors attacked by drones in the Sea of Azov - there are fatalities
In the night of June 5, 2026, in the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of Azov, drones attacked two cargo ships — the motor vessels Natra and Zircon, traveling in ballast from Turkey to Rostov-on-Don for loading grain.
As a result of the attacks, five people died.
This is reported by day.az citing data from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center Tamanh, received at 03:04 Moscow time.
"On the m/v Natra, four hits by UAVs were recorded, two crew members died, the fire was extinguished by the crew, the vessel remains afloat and needs towing. On the m/v Zircon, four hits were also recorded in the superstructure area, three crew members died, the crew abandoned the vessel in lifeboats, the vessel is still burning," the operational report states.
The motor vessel Natra (flag of Belize) had 12 people on board, the motor vessel Zircon (flag of Palau) — 14. All of them were citizens of Azerbaijan, hired on the ships privately as hired sailors. Both ships sail under foreign flags and have no relation to the Azerbaijani state. The attacks occurred with a difference of a little more than an hour: Natra was hit at 00:45, Zircon — at 01:55.
The survivors were picked up by three ships passing in the area of the tragedy. By morning, all rescued sailors were delivered to the port of Yeisk. Two tugs set out to tow the damaged Natra, which remained afloat.
