The captain of the vessel “Vasily Tatishchev,” whose crew mainly consists of Azerbaijani citizens, Amir Rzayev, has commented on the recent attacks and the situation faced by sailors in the Sea of Azov.
According to sea-news.az citing İTV, the captain stated that the targeted vessels “Natra” and “Zirkon” were en route to Rostov carrying wheat cargo, rather than heading to the ports of Berdyansk or Mariupol.
He explained that those ports are located in disputed or non-operational areas, and that the ships were simply passing through the nearby maritime route before entering the Taganrog Bay:
“At around 1 a.m., the drone attacks took place in that area,” he said.
The captain noted that the strikes were directly aimed at the living quarters of the vessels:
“The first strike hit the captain’s cabin, and the second hit the chief engineer’s room. Panic broke out among the crew, and some people jumped into the sea. Unfortunately, among the dead were the captain and the chief engineer. One of them was my classmate,” he said.
Rzayev also added that although security risks in the region have increased in recent times, drone attacks were previously mostly associated with military targets and certain tankers:
“We were shocked and horrified that attacks were carried out on cargo vessels, especially merchant ships under different flags,” he emphasized.
He also rejected claims circulating on social media about “entering prohibited ports,” stating that sailors were operating along internationally compliant maritime routes.
It should be noted that on the night of June 5, drone attacks targeted the vessels “Natra” and “Zirkon” in the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of Azov, carrying 25 Azerbaijani citizens. Five people were killed in the incident.
