Illustrative image.
The Turkish owner of a cargo ship struck by a Ukrainian drone in the Black Sea, along with surviving crew members and the family of a sailor killed in the attack, has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) seeking an investigation into the strike as a possible war crime, Turkish media reported on September 17.
The complaint concerns the Turkish-flagged bulk carrier MV Reyhan Sari, which was hit near the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk on July 22 while carrying coal from Russia’s Taman port to Trabzon, Turkey.
The strike killed 54-year-old engine-room worker Savas Cakar and wounded other crew members. The vessel remained capable of sailing and continued to Turkey after the attack.
The filing was submitted to the ICC prosecutor’s office in The Hague by the ship’s owner, T&O Denizcilik, the surviving crew and Cakar’s family. Their lawyer, Nuri Koray Kurun, has accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting the civilian vessel and alleged that the weapon used contained cluster-type submunitions with armor-piercing capability.
According to the complaint, the ship was struck in or near its accommodation area, and the applicants contend that the attack was intended to kill civilians. They are asking prosecutors to examine the incident under the provisions of the Rome Statute covering war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The submission does not mean the ICC has opened a case or determined that a war crime occurred. Prosecutors must first assess the allegations and evidence, including whether the court has jurisdiction and whether the conduct described meets the legal threshold for an ICC investigation. A formal investigation would be required before the case could proceed further.
The attack is part of a wider series of Ukrainian attacks targeting shipping in the Black Sea. Turkey has repeatedly called for merchant vessels to be spared from the conflict and has backed efforts to establish arrangements protecting civilian shipping.
The Maritime Executive, citing AFP, reported that at least 25 Turkish vessels had been struck since hostilities intensified in June.
The complaint, believed to be the first of its kind, could establish a legal precedent that may allow other owners of merchant vessels attacked by Ukraine, as well as the families of victims killed or wounded in such strikes, to pursue similar claims against Kyiv before the ICC.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com