Global food security is under threat

Attacks on commercial vessels appear to have become an established tactic in ongoing wars. In the Gulf region, they are part of the continuing war of attrition between the United States and Iran. In the Black Sea, they have become an increasingly prominent feature of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Most of the vessels being targeted are not military ships but commercial ones carrying oil, gas and petroleum products, or food commodities such as wheat and corn. All are essential either to the functioning of the economy or to human survival. In October, commercial shipping in the Black Sea witnessed a sharp escalation, with a series of drone attacks targeting at least nine vessels off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria, both NATO members.