Chemical tanker in Black Sea hit by shelling, crew abandons ship

A chemical tanker was hit by shelling in the Black Sea near Ukraine, forcing 10 sailors to leap overboard and seriously injuring two.

The Millennial Spirit, a Moldova-flagged vessel, burst into flames in neutral waters on Friday and its lifeboats were destroyed, the nation’s naval agency said on its website. The sailors, who abandoned ship wearing lifejackets, were rescued by Ukrainian authorities.

The incident comes a day after a Cargill Inc.-chartered vessel crossing the Black Sea was damaged by shell fire, the first confirmed instance of physical damage related to commodity trading in the region. The source of shelling was unknown in both events.

The back-to-back assaults show the increasing danger faced by commodity haulers amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia together account for more than a quarter of the global trade in wheat and about a fifth of corn.