Port pilot killed in Russian attack on merchant ship

UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown: “I am outraged... I share my condolences with the family of the killed port pilot and hope for the recovery of the injured.” [UN Photo/Manuel Elías]

According to multiple reports, a Russian missile attack on a civilian vessel entering the port of Pivdennyi in Odesa yesterday saw the Ukrainian port pilot killed and injured crewmembers.

Ukrainian national news agency Ukrinform says that the Russian army struck the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Kmax Ruler with a Kh-31P missile as it was entering port and that “as a result, the pilot was killed, and another port employee and three crewmembers, citizens of the Republic of the Philippines, were injured by the debris. The vessel was heavily damaged.”

Hans Leo J. Cacdac of the Philippines Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said the three Filipino seafarers, the ship’s captain, able seaman, deck cadet, and ship’s electrician, were on the bridge of the ship when the missile hit.

“Thankfully, they were far enough from the point of impact and suffered non-fatal injuries. They are all out of danger,” he said.

The captain, able seaman, and deck cadet suffered minor injuries and are receiving treatment on-board, says the DMW. The ship’s electrician, meanwhile, sustained a fracture on his left hand and is receiving treatment at a local hospital.

The Equasis data base lists the Kmax Leader as a 91,825 dwt Liberian-flag bul carrier built in 201o and owned and managed by Philippines based Porto Mare SA.

The attack that was condemned by the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown.

“I am outraged to learn of an attack yesterday on a civilian vessel as it was entering the Ukrainian Black Sea Port of Pivdennyi in Odesa, killing a port worker and injuring crew members,” she wrote in a statement posted on the UN website. “I share my condolences with the family of the killed port pilot and hope for the recovery of the injured.

“This happens just a few days after a series of attacks that killed and injured civilians, destroyed grain supplies and damaged a 124-year-old Fine Arts Museum in Odesa, in the south of Ukraine.

“Yesterday’s attack is one of over 30 attacks on Ukrainian port facilities since the termination of the Black Sea Initiative in July. This tragic incident marks the first time civilians are killed and injured on a civilian vessel.

“The consequences of this brutal and relentless pattern of Russian attacks on port facilities are devasting for Ukraine’s economy and the hundreds of millions of people facing hunger worldwide.

“International humanitarian law strictly prohibits attacks on civilian infrastructure.”

UKRAINE GRAIN CORRIDOR IS WORKING

Despite the continuing Russian attacks, the movement of merchant ships to and from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea through the temporary sea corridor has continued,

“Six vessels with 231,000 tonnes of agricultural products on board have left the ports of Odesa region and are heading towards the Bosphorus. Five vessels are waiting to enter ports for loading. The movement through the Ukrainian corridor did not stop despite Russia’s systematic attacks on port infrastructure,” Ukrinform quotes Ukraine’s Restoration Ministry as saying, noting that the ministry reports that, since August 8, 2023, when the temporary corridor established by the Ukrainian Navy came into effect, 91 vessels have transported 3.3 million tonnes of agricultural and metal products for export, and 116 vessels have called at the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Pivdennyi.