Vessel carrying 11 Azerbaijanis comes under drone attack off Ukraine’s Odesa coast Search underway for missing captain

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has issued a statement following media reports that a drone struck a vessel carrying Azerbaijani citizens off the coast of Odesa, Ukraine.

According to a statement published on the ministry’s X account, the civilian cargo vessel Atlas Bey, owned by Turkish company Okean Maritime, came under a drone attack near Odesa at approximately 15:15 local time on July 14.

There were 11 Azerbaijani citizens on board the vessel. All crew members except the ship’s captain, who is an Azerbaijani citizen, were brought ashore in Odesa, the ministry said.

Odessa sahilləri yaxınlığında Azərbaycan vətəndaşlarının olduğu gəminin dron hücumuna məruz qalması barədə mətbuat məlumatı

14 iyul tarixində Ukraynanın Odessa sahilləri yaxınlığında yerli vaxtla saat 15:15 radələrində Türkiyənin Okean Maritime şirkətinə məxsus Atlas Bey adlı… pic.twitter.com/AGAE2hvZxN

— MFA Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 (@AzerbaijanMFA) July 14, 2026

Their condition has been assessed as satisfactory. Authorities are currently undertaking efforts to locate the captain.

Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Ukraine remains in constant contact with the relevant authorities and is taking the necessary steps to provide consular assistance to Azerbaijani citizens.

By Jeyhun Aghazada