[Goose]

Russia took off its gloves long ago, but this is another manifestation of its no holds barred approach. 

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/rus...024-09-12/

The targeted ship was in the Maritime Economic Zone of Romania but not in the territorial waters of Romania. These are legally international waters as far as surface ships are concerned. Under the law, Russia has every right to seize any ship and cargo, including neutral ones, that are  bound to or from Ukraine.  They may not legally sink it without warning. However, every since WW I it has been de facto allowed to sink any ship that is trading with your enemy. Germany certainly did it. The US didn't go to war over it. In WW II the US practiced unrestricted submarine warfare. That all by itself makes it difficult to generate much outrage.

Nobody would be irate if the vessel had been hit in Ukrainian waters. That is no different than being hit sitting at a pier in Odessa. This has happened several times.  Had the attack happened inside Romanian Territorial Waters it would have been an entirely different affair. Russia and their weapons have no right at all to be there. Of course, that only matters if Romania feels like fighting Russia, either alone or with NATO. I am not sure Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and/or NATO want to go there. A diplomatic protest would have been the most probable response. 

The key here is that the vessels trading with Ukraine do really need to hug the coast. Get into Romanian waters ASAP. https://sovereignlimits.com/wp-content/u...OU_UKR.jpg The very light blue areas are territorial waters. Ship operators  don't like to do this for many good reasons. The damaged vessel undoubtedly wanted to go faster and Russia hasn't been very active in stopping the grain trade. That just changed.

I am surprised it has taken so long for this to happen. I am even more surprised Russia used an air-launched missile to do it. Sinking a bulk carrier usually will take a "big" missile because the cargo itself doesn't explode or burn. A torpedo OTOH will easily do so, as these ships have limited excess buoyancy when fully loaded. The compartmentalization depends a lot on the specific vessel. Getting sunk sends a much bigger message than mere damage :-). Insurance rates will rise either way.

[Goose]

Russia took off its gloves long ago, but this is another manifestation of its no holds barred approach. 

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/rus...024-09-12/

The targeted ship was in the Maritime Economic Zone of Romania but not in the territorial waters of Romania. These are legally international waters as far as surface ships are concerned. Under the law, Russia has every right to seize any ship and cargo, including neutral ones, that are  bound to or from Ukraine.  They may not legally sink it without warning. However, every since WW I it has been de facto allowed to sink any ship that is trading with your enemy. Germany certainly did it. The US didn't go to war over it. In WW II the US practiced unrestricted submarine warfare. That all by itself makes it difficult to generate much outrage.

Nobody would be irate if the vessel had been hit in Ukrainian waters. That is no different than being hit sitting at a pier in Odessa. This has happened several times.  Had the attack happened inside Romanian Territorial Waters it would have been an entirely different affair. Russia and their weapons have no right at all to be there. Of course, that only matters if Romania feels like fighting Russia, either alone or with NATO. I am not sure Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and/or NATO want to go there. A diplomatic protest would have been the most probable response. 

The key here is that the vessels trading with Ukraine do really need to hug the coast. Get into Romanian waters ASAP. https://sovereignlimits.com/wp-content/u...OU_UKR.jpg The very light blue areas are territorial waters. Ship operators  don't like to do this for many good reasons. The damaged vessel undoubtedly wanted to go faster and Russia hasn't been very active in stopping the grain trade. That just changed.

I am surprised it has taken so long for this to happen. I am even more surprised Russia used an air-launched missile to do it. Sinking a bulk carrier usually will take a "big" missile because the cargo itself doesn't explode or burn. A torpedo OTOH will easily do so, as these ships have limited excess buoyancy when fully loaded. The compartmentalization depends a lot on the specific vessel. Getting sunk sends a much bigger message than mere damage :-). Insurance rates will rise either way.