Two Azerbaijani citizens were killed and two others suffered burns in a drone strike on the tug boat TEDY near the port of Odesa in southern Ukraine on Sept. 9. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the same day that its forces had struck a tug escorting ships into the Odesa port. The ministry did not identify the vessel, but the ship type, location, and timing match reports of the attack on TEDY.
The attack was first reported by the public association Support for Azerbaijani Sailors, which said drones had attacked TEDY in the Black Sea near Odesa on the morning of Sept. 9. After the first strike, the damaged vessel headed toward the Romanian port of Constanța, but it came under attack twice more during the night.
There were 10 people aboard: four Azerbaijani citizens, three Turkish citizens, two Germans, and one Ukrainian. Azerbaijani sailors Aslan Aliyev and Asim Gasimov were killed. Two other Azerbaijani citizens, Imran Novruzov and Rauf Aliyev, suffered burns and were taken to a hospital in Chornomorsk.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry later confirmed the deaths and injuries. The ministry said it was in contact with Ukrainian authorities and diplomatic missions to assist the injured and arrange for the return of the bodies of those killed. It also advised Azerbaijani citizens to avoid working aboard vessels whose routes pass through areas of active fighting.
On the evening of Sept. 9, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Russian forces had carried out coordinated strikes on Ukrainian seaports and vessels. Among the targets, it listed a tug that had been escorting dry cargo ships into the port of Odesa. The Russian military did not name the vessel or report any crew deaths. There is no direct confirmation so far that the ministry’s statement referred to TEDY.
TEDY (IMO 9059200) is a roughly 30-meter tug and supply vessel built in 1995 and registered under the Somali flag. The Insider reviewed data provided by the vessel tracking platform Starboard Maritime Intelligence. On Sept. 7 at 12:58 p.m. UTC, TEDY departed the Romanian port of Midia and headed northeast toward Odesa at a speed of 14 to 15 kilometers per hour. At 4:41 p.m., the ship stopped transmitting its tracking signal for nearly a day.
Then, on Sept. 8 at 4:03 p.m., it reappeared in the tracking system about 40 kilometers southwest of Snake Island (Zmiinyi Island) and had effectively stopped. TEDY transmitted its last signal from that location at 4:24 p.m.
The group Support for Azerbaijani Sailors identified the Turkish company Mert Marine Corporation as TEDY’s owner. Data reviewed by The Insider supports that claim. TEDY’s vessel record lists Mert Marine as both the owner and operator of the tug. The same information appears in all available Automatic Identification System (AIS) records from June through September 2026.
Ships with foreign crews operating in the Black and Azov seas have repeatedly been targeted by Russian and Ukrainian drones in recent months. In June, drones attacked the vessels Natra and Circon in Taganrog Bay. According to updated figures from Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, four Azerbaijani sailors were killed and four others were injured. One Azerbaijani citizen initially listed among the dead was later identified as a Russian national. Ukraine’s military effectively confirmed the strikes, saying the vessels had been used to transport stolen grain, military cargo, and fuel. An analysis of their routes by The Insider found that both ships had sailed between the Russian ports of Kavkaz and Rostov-on-Don.
On July 14, Russian drones attacked two merchant ships near Odesa. On the dry cargo vessel Atlas Bey, which was sailing from Chornomorsk to Turkey with a cargo of meal, the captain, an Azerbaijani citizen, and another crew member were killed. Three people were injured.
Several more foreign vessels were hit between July 17 and 19. One sailor was killed and three were injured in an attack on the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged dry cargo ship Venturo. A strike on the Guinea-Bissau-flagged dry cargo ship Golden Leo, which was carrying corn, killed 10 people — nine crew members and a Ukrainian pilot. The vessel later sank. Four Indian citizens were among those killed, prompting New Delhi to summon Russia’s chargé d’affaires.
Ukraine has also attacked vessels linked to Russian ports. Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said that as of Aug. 8, a total of 218 vessels had been struck in an operation launched in July. That figure has not been independently verified. The Insider found that not all of the vessels attacked were under Ukrainian sanctions, and one was sailing under the Turkish flag.
After attacks on the Yasar and Nadezhda, which had departed Novorossiysk, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry warned that strikes on commercial shipping risked triggering uncontrolled escalation in the Black Sea.
