The President of the Egyptian Marine Officers Union and Head of the Egyptian Maritime System, Al-Sayed al-Shazly al-Najjar, announced the tragic deaths of three sailors—one Egyptian and two Syrian nationals—following a direct hit on the general cargo vessel AIDA.
The merchant ship was struck during a Russian drone airstrike while anchored at the Pivdennyi (Yuzhny) port in Ukraine’s Odesa region along the Black Sea.
Speaking to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Al-Najjar clarified that the targeted vessel is a commercial general cargo ship owned by a Syrian shipping company and flying the Togolese flag.
He emphasized that this vessel has absolutely no connection to Egypt’s famous training and lighthouse supply ship, Aida IV, which is owned by the Egyptian Authority for Maritime Safety and operated by the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport.
Al-Najjar added that the bombardment directly targeted the ship’s superstructure and living quarters, causing them to burn down completely.
The devastating attack claimed the lives of three key crew members: an Egyptian sailor serving as the Chief Officer, and two Syrian sailors serving as the Captain and Chief Engineer.
He concluded by confirming that the relevant authorities, the Egyptian Marine Officers Union, and diplomatic missions are closely monitoring the situation to finalize the necessary procedures under the exceptional circumstances of the military operations zone.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
