Bloomberg: Russia is considering arming grain ships with machine guns and missile launchers to fend off Ukrainian drones

Russian officials are considering installing machine guns and mobile missile launchers on cargo ships that carry grain through the Sea of Azov to shield the vessels from Ukrainian drone attacks, sources told Bloomberg.

The Russian military and other government agencies are in talks with grain traders and shipowners over how to safeguard their cargo. Moscow is recommending that dry-cargo vessels be temporarily fitted with makeshift defenses — everything from armor plating and sandbags to anti-drone netting and specially built machine-gun positions.

According to documents obtained by Bloomberg, one plan under consideration calls for soldiers armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles to escort the ships along the first leg of the route.

Under that plan, the soldiers would board the cargo ships in Sea of Azov ports and mount weapons on purpose-built platforms. After the ships pass through the Kerch Strait, the soldiers would leave the vessels, taking the weapons with them.

Armed guards have been spotted aboard tankers in the so-called shadow fleet — the vessels used to carry Russian oil in circumvention of Western sanctions. Ukraine has attacked those vessels as well.

Officials are also discussing a plan for cargo ships to move between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea in convoys escorted by military boats. Traders and shipowners would bear the costs of both reinforcing the ships and the military escort. Some carriers and market participants doubt the measures would be effective, in part because they would be extremely expensive.

The day before, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that international maritime law prohibits merchant vessels from carrying weapons. He said Russia’s navy could nonetheless take steps to protect such ships. Peskov also cited remarks by President Vladimir Putin, who has called for treating attempts to “interfere” with the commercial fleet as acts of piracy.

Up to a quarter of Russia’s grain exports pass through the Sea of Azov. Over the past two weeks, amid Ukrainian strikes on ports and ships, trade there all but halted. If the situation does not change, experts estimate that Russia could lose 500,000 to 1.5 million metric tons of grain exports a month.

Ukrainian forces are carrying out similar strikes on Russian ports in the Black Sea. Those ports continue to operate, but the flow of cargo through them has also fallen.

In response to Ukrainian attacks, Russia is striking Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. Amid these mutual strikes, wheat prices have risen to a two-year high.