Black Sea overtakes Strait of Hormuz as world's deadliest shipping lane

Strikes have spread to waters of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria

The Black Sea has overtaken the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East as the world’s deadliest body of water for commercial shipping this year, as attacks on vessels killed seafarers and disrupted trade routes. There have been over 300 attacks in the Black Sea in 2026, according to figures from maritime security company Ambrey. The strikes have killed more than 30 seafarers and left more than 20 others missing, according to the Turkish Shipowners’ Association, MarineTraffic reports and local authorities.

By comparison, around 130 attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East have killed 25 seafarers since the U.S.-Iran conflict began at the end of February, according to the International Maritime Organization.

The Black Sea holds significant strategic importance as a link between Europe and Asia. Six countries — Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine — border its shores, giving the region access to vital international trade routes.

Russian forces have targeted commercial ships carrying food exports from Ukraine out into the Black Sea, while Ukraine has attacked Russian shipping on the other side of the sea with drones. Shippers have largely moved away from the waters off Ukraine and Russia to shelter from the attacks.

The strikes have expanded to the waters of Romania and Bulgaria, both members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in a spate of recent deadly incidents. In October, almost half of the attacks on a dozen vessels off the two countries left seafarers either dead, missing or injured.

Some European leaders have linked those attacks, on the edge of NATO territory, to Russia; Moscow has denied involvement. The incidents come alongside an increase in airspace violations, cyberattacks and acts of sabotage on the alliance’s eastern border that European officials have linked to Moscow.

Romania and Bulgaria are particularly exposed to Russian hostility, the Wall Street Journal reported, because their militaries and civil defense forces are among Europe’s least developed. NATO allies are deploying resources to assist in the region. On Monday, the European Commission announced plans to fast-track a Black Sea maritime-security hub in light of the recent attacks, but did not name Russia as behind them.

For months after Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Black Sea was a focus of naval warfare and attacks on commercial shipping, but hostilities there gradually ebbed. Russian warships retreated to port and, under international pressure, stopped targeting merchant vessels carrying grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine. Countries across Africa and parts of the Middle East depend on Ukraine’s harvests to feed their people.

The recent increase in violence has sharply reduced commercial activity on the sea. The number of ships entering via the Bosporus fell 41% in October compared with the same month in 2025, and transits in both directions declined 38% in that period, according to Global Fishing Watch, a nongovernmental organization that tracks maritime activity.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the Black Sea was a busy maritime thoroughfare, with traffic crossing in all directions. Commercial traffic shifted after the invasion but generally held steady until this year.

This summer, Ukrainian drone attacks forced Russia to halt most shipments for several months. Over recent weeks, ships sailing to and from Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Georgia have generally hugged coastlines for safety against Russian attacks.