MEA advises seafarers to exercise caution in Black Sea region

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on July 26 issued an advisory urging Indian nationals to carefully assess security risks before accepting employment on commercial vessels operating in or transiting through the conflict-affected Black Sea region.

• The advisory comes amid a sharp rise in attacks on merchant ships operating in the region since April 2026.
• According to the MEA, the attacks have resulted in the tragic deaths of five Indian nationals since April this year.
• The MEA has therefore advised Indian seafarers to exercise greater caution and conduct a proper assessment of security risks before taking up employment on vessels operating in the affected region.

About the Black Sea

• According to NASA, the Black Sea is the world’s largest inland body of water and the largest meromictic basin.
  • A meromictic basin is a water body in which there is very limited mixing between its upper and lower water layers.
• This limited circulation creates significant differences in temperature, salinity and nutrient concentrations between the upper and lower layers.
• The deeper layers of the Black Sea are anoxic, meaning they are largely devoid of oxygen.
• The complex water chemistry of the Black Sea is influenced by substantial freshwater inflows from several large rivers and rainfall.
• Saltwater exchange with the Mediterranean system takes place through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits.
• The Black Sea is bordered by Ukraine to the north, Russia to the northeast, Georgia to the east, Turkey to the south, and Bulgaria and Romania to the west.

Source: DD

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