Greece advises fleet to boost security in Black Sea after attacks

ATHENS, July 22 (Reuters) - Greece ‌has advised ​Greek-flagged ​commercial ships to upgrade security measures when sailing in the Black Sea following a string of attacks ‌on tankers over the past days, according to ⁠a shipping ministry advisory seen by Reuters.

Greek-operated ships are among the world's ‌largest fleets of tankers and ‌are pivotal for trade across the Black Sea region, whose waters are shared by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and Turkey, ​as well as warring Russia and Ukraine, which Moscow invaded in February 2022.

In recent weeks, Ukraine and Russia ⁠have stepped up attacks on vessels and other facilities in the Black Sea and ​the Sea of Azov, trying to undermine each other's war efforts.

On Sunday, a Russian missile struck a ​ship carrying corn near Ukraine's ‌southern port of Odesa, killing 10 people.

Two Greek-operated tankers were also attacked with sea drones on ⁠Sunday at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium — a 940-mile (1,510 km) oil pipeline connecting Kazakhstan's Caspian Sea oil fields with Russia's Black Sea port ⁠of Novorossiysk. CPC accounts for about 80% of Kazakhstan's oil exports.

The crude ​oil tanker ASIA, which is managed by Dynacom, and NISSOS IOS, owned by Kyklades Maritime Corp, were attacked during loading operations. A third ‌Greek-operated vessel has also been attacked in the area, the July 21 advisory said.

"Taking into account ‌the increased tension observed with attacks against commercial ships, it ⁠is recommended that all ‌Greek ships in the ​wider region increase security measures," the advisory said.

(Reporting by Yannis Souliotis; Writing by Renee MaltezouEditing by Joe ‌Bavier)

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