MOSCOW, 6 April - The state news agency TASS reported on Monday that a Russian ship carrying grain believed to?have sunk after a Ukrainian drone strike has been located?and towed?to?shore. Meanwhile, the death?toll has risen to?three, the report said. Analysts say the attack on the ship, which occurred on April 5, increased the risks for global food security and the agricultural trade resulting from the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict against Iran.

Russian media reported that the vessel was transporting wheat from the Port of Azov near Rostov to Port Kavkaz, in the strait that separates the Crimean Peninsula from mainland Russia. The grain is then usually loaded on larger vessels for export.

TASS reported emergency services saying that the'vessel was gutted - by fire and started to sink. It was towed into the village of Kuchugury, in Russia's Krasnodar Region. The news agency posted a video showing the vessel in flames. Two badly burned bodies have been 'found' aboard the vessel, increasing the death toll. The agency said that an aide of the captain's vessel had been reported as dead earlier.

Public ship databases list Volgo-Balt 138-class vessels ?at about 3,165 ?tons deadweight. Grain consultancy Sovecon described the incident earlier as the first sinking of a?ship with grain on board in the Black Sea/Azov Basin, a major grain trading route, since 2022.

Andrey Sizov, Sovecon's head, said: "The risk of a further escalation of violence in the region has increased significantly against the background of the conflict between Iran and?Washington and Moscow." Reporting by Gleb Brynski Editing Rod Nickel

(source: Reuters)