Five Drones Destroy Grain Ship Anna S Near Novorossiysk; All 21 Crew Rescued

Five naval drones struck the bulk carrier Anna S in the Black Sea on August 17, 2026. The ship was about 40 kilometres northwest of Novorossiysk when the first drone hit. It was heading to the Russian port to load grain. Four more drones followed in quick succession. By the time the last one struck, the ship was well alight and beyond saving.

The captain ordered an evacuation. All 21 crew - 20 Filipino sailors and a Romanian captain - got off in life rafts. The nearby Malta-flagged bulk carrier Elina B moved in to pick them up. The crew was safe. Then, around five hours after the Anna S attack, two more drones struck the Elina B itself. The rescue ship took damage but kept sailing, and all 21 survivors were eventually brought to port.

The attack on the Anna S was the second on a Greek-owned ship near Novorossiysk in two days. A Ukrainian drone had hit the tanker Skiros, struck near the CPC crude terminal on August 16 as it was leaving with Russian crude. Ukraine has not formally claimed either attack but has publicly described targeting ships calling at Russian Black Sea ports as a means of pressing Russia on export revenues. Russia has not confirmed the Anna S condition; maritime tracking data showed the vessel going offline in the area and not reappearing.

MarineRadar recorded 9 unique devices a day tracking the Anna S on August 22, a 4.5-fold jump from its normal level. Much of the attention came from the Philippines, given the 20 Filipino crew. The pattern is familiar: drone strikes on cargo ships near Novorossiysk in early August produced similar spikes, and Russia's night-time shipping ban at Novorossiysk, imposed in late July, shows how port operators have tried to limit their exposure to the ongoing strikes.