Yesterday, 9 September, the foreign cargo vessel TEDY, with Azerbaijani citizens on board, was attacked by drones in the Black Sea. Two seafarers were killed and two others were injured.
This was stated in a press release by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is also reported by Media.AZ and Astra.
As a result of the attack, Azerbaijani citizens Aslan Aliyev and Asim Gasimov were killed, while Imran Novruzov and Rauf Aliyev were wounded and taken to hospital in Chornomorsk.
“At present, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is coordinating actions with our country’s diplomatic missions, as well as the competent authorities of the relevant countries on this matter. Following medical examinations and treatment for our wounded citizens, steps are being taken to return them to the country and provide them with the necessary consular support, as well as to carry out funeral arrangements,” the ministry said.
Media.AZ reports that at the time of the first attack there were 10 crew members on board: four Azerbaijani citizens, three Turkish citizens, two German citizens and one Ukrainian citizen.
Later, at night, as the vessel was heading to the port of Constanța, it came under two further drone attacks. That was when the fatalities occurred.
TEDY is a tugboat, also classified as an offshore tug/supply vessel, sailing under the Somali flag. It is around 30 metres long. The tug’s last position was recorded on 7 September in the Black Sea near the Romanian port of Constanța.
Astra notes that on the evening of 9 September, Russia’s Ministry of Defence boasted of striking a “tugboat”-type vessel that allegedly escorted ships in the port of Odesa.