Turkey demands Black Sea moratorium and restricts ship traffic after attacks on commercial vessels

Fidan's moratorium appeal

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called on Russia and Ukraine to establish a "moratorium" on attacks targeting commercial vessels in the Black Sea, declaring in a live interview with the official Anadolu news agency on Saturday, August 8, that Turkey "has called for the establishment of a mechanism allowing a moratorium to be declared." Fidan noted that the conflict had spread across the entire Black Sea and that the pattern of targeting had shifted from ports and military vessels to all commercial shipping without discrimination.

The conflict has spread to the entire Black Sea. At first, they targeted ports and military vessels. Now, they attack all commercial vessels, without distinction.

Fidan stressed that vessels belonging to Turkish owners or flying the Turkish flag have also been affected. Turkey, which maintains close relations with both Moscow and Kyiv, has positioned itself as a neutral mediator in the conflict but now faces direct risks to its maritime commercial interests.

Drone strikes on Turkish vessels

The moratorium appeal follows drone attacks on two vessels owned by Turkish shipping companies in the Black Sea earlier in the week. Turkey denounced the attacks on Tuesday, August 4, noting that several crew members, including Turkish citizens, were injured. The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement that day warning that escalation of the conflict would have "negative consequences on multiple levels," including on food security.

We reiterate our call to all relevant actors, especially the parties in conflict, to urgently implement concrete measures to ensure navigation safety in the Black Sea.

Traffic restrictions at the Dardanelles

Turkey's Directorate General of Coastal Safety has begun restricting commercial ship traffic into the Black Sea, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. Multiple ships heading toward Novorossiisk, one of Russia's main oil and grain export centers, were told that transit permits through the Dardanelles strait are not currently being issued or that more time is needed to analyze passage requests. Turkish authorities have not provided an explanation for the measure. The Directorate General of Coastal Safety redirected requests for comment to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure in Ankara, which did not respond to inquiries sent by email or telephone outside normal working hours.

A source said some ships were informed that the restrictions also apply to vessels heading to Ukraine. Ships bound for ports in Bulgaria or Turkey, however, continued to traverse the Dardanelles northward as of 1:00 PM local time, according to maritime traffic monitoring data compiled by Bloomberg.

Impact on global trade

The restriction risks compounding disruptions to global trade at a time when oil flows are already affected by the war in Iran and reduced cargo volumes through the Strait of Hormuz. The intensification of Russian and Ukrainian attacks has contributed to concerns about grain supplies from the Black Sea region and to rising wheat prices, which in July reached their highest level in two years. The measure effectively limits the flow of commercial vessels to the Black Sea, where the growing frequency of attacks on vessels, including those owned by Turkish companies, has prompted Ankara to seek additional measures to guarantee navigation safety.