Human remains found on Wine Trader at Varna as Black Sea war-risk premiums reach 20%
Russia claims strikes on more cargo ships off Odesa while the drifting tanker Mentor nears Bulgaria with no crew
Bulgarian prosecutors said on 7 November that human remains had been found aboard the San Marino-flagged chemical tanker Wine Trader, which was brought into Varna for repairs after a drone strike off Romania on 15 October. Local television put the number at six seafarers. Prosecutors have ordered DNA tests to establish identities. Seven of the ship's 12 crew were listed as missing after the attack, and five were rescued.
What is Russia claiming?
Russia's defence ministry issued a run of statements over the weekend claiming strikes on merchant ships it said were carrying military supplies for Ukraine. On 7 November it reported hitting a dry cargo ship south-east of Odesa and another vessel east of the port. On 8 November it claimed a container ship delivering weapons to Odesa, a second container ship in Chornomorsk carrying what it called dual-use cargo, and a dry cargo ship south-west of Odesa. None of the ships has been identified, no casualty figures have been published and none of the claims has been independently verified.
Earlier in the week the product tanker Mentor broke free of her tow. The 13,000 dwt Antigua and Barbuda-registered ship was hit off Odesa on 24 September by a Shahed-type drone that killed her Ukrainian master. The Turkish tugs Ramazan Bey and Ayaz Bey were towing her towards Turkey when the line parted in a storm off Romania. Ayaz Bey struck the tanker while the crews were reconnecting and was heavily damaged. Romania evacuated three of her crew to the Dutch-flagged tug Odin, while four others declined to leave. Bulgaria said Mentor, with about 11,000 tonnes of sunflower oil and no one aboard, was drifting off Shabla near the Romanian border, and told Ramazan Bey to stand by her.
What does cover cost now?
Insurance market quotes for Black Sea war risk have reached 20% of hull value on the most exposed voyages, and some calls at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal at Novorossiysk have been priced at that level, though most quotes are well below it. During the Iran-Iraq tanker war of the 1980s, premiums reached 7.5% and only occasionally exceeded 10%. CMA CGM starts charging a war-risk surcharge of $35 per teu on cargo to and from Black Sea countries today, 9 November, covering Constanta, Varna, Burgas and Poti.
Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey activated their joint Black Sea mine-countermeasures group on 7 November. A French Atlantique 2 patrol aircraft based in Romania, whose deployment has been extended, detected the three sea drones that sank Contship Jet off Bulgaria on 28 October about an hour before they struck, but had no means of stopping them. The sinking is covered in our earlier report.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 9 November 2026.
Ships in this story
