Watch: Cargo Ship Sinks Off Odesa A Week After Russian Missile Strike Kills 10 Crew Members

The Golden Leo, a Turkish-operated, Guinea-Bissau-flagged vessel carrying corn, sank after suffering heavy damage in the July 19 attack while leaving the port of Chornomorsk through Ukraine’s maritime corridor toward Romania, according to Ukraine’s Maritime Administration and ports authority.

The administration said the vessel’s hull and superstructure were badly damaged in the strike, causing it to lose seaworthiness and eventually sink. There were no crew members on board when the ship went down.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the shipowner have been informed.

According to Ukrainian authorities, three Russian cruise missiles struck the Golden Leo on July 19 while it was sailing with a cargo of corn. The missiles hit the accommodation block on the starboard side, killing 10 people and starting a fire.

The crew included 17 Syrian and Indian nationals, as well as a Ukrainian pilot. Eight people were rescued in an overnight search-and-rescue operation carried out while the area remained under the threat of further Russian strikes.

At least one of the survivors was critically injured. Four of those killed were Indian nationals.

Bulk carrier Golden Leo (Guinea-Bissau flagged, Mumbai-owned, carrying corn from Odesa) capsized in shallow water off the Ukrainian coast today, a week after being hit by three Russian cruise missiles on 19 July.

Casualties: 10 killed (9 crew + Ukrainian pilot), including 4… pic.twitter.com/aP8yVQu72n

— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 26, 2026

A Reuters witness in Odesa saw smoke rising from a large vessel off the coast after the attack. Moscow has not publicly commented on the strike.

Ukraine’s ports authority said the attack on the merchant ship violated international maritime law and endangered the lives of civilian seafarers.

The Maritime Administration said the strike also breached the principle of freedom of navigation and posed a threat to international maritime transport and global food security.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs lodged a formal protest after four Indian nationals were killed.

“India condemns such attacks and reiterates that targeting commercial shipping and endangering innocent civilian crew members, or otherwise impeding freedom of navigation and commerce, is deplorable and should be avoided,” the ministry said.

Russia has stepped up attacks in recent weeks on Ukraine’s deepwater ports, which handle much of the country’s grain exports and other cargo, in the fifth year of the war.

According to the source material, merchant shipping to and from the Odesa region has largely stopped since the attack because of the increased risk of further Russian strikes.

A Kremlin spokesperson said the campaign was aimed at stopping “vessels involved in transporting ammunition, weapons and so on for the purposes of the Kyiv regime.”

Ukraine is one of the world’s major grain exporters, supplying about 6% of global wheat exports and around 11% of global corn exports in a typical year. Agricultural exports account for more than one-third of the country’s export earnings.

The source material also said Ukraine’s attacks on Russian shipping in the Sea of Azov and the northeastern Black Sea have disrupted Russia’s grain exports.

Traffic through the Kerch Strait has been suspended since July 11 after Ukrainian drone strikes on anchorages and transit routes in the area.

Agricultural consultancy SovEcon said Russia’s grain exports in July are expected to be less than half the five-year average, putting pressure on exporters to find alternative routes.

References: Reuters, Ukrinform