Turkish-Owned Ship Hit by Bomb Off Coast of Odessa

ISTANBUL—A Turkish-owned ship was hit by a bomb off the coast of Odessa and is now heading to Romania, according to the Turkish General Directorate of Maritime Affairs.

No one was hurt in the bombing, the agency said.

Television footage showed broken windows on the ship, a bulk carrier named YASA JUPITER. The Maritime Affairs authority didn’t say who was behind the shelling.

The incident highlighted concerns about how the Russian attack on Ukraine could disrupt vital shipping routes in the Black Sea that carry much of the world’s wheat and other agricultural products.

Ukraine is the source of 12% of the world’s wheat exports and 13% of corn exports, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, earlier Thursday condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine, which Ankara has described as a violation of Ukrainian sovereignty.

“Turkey supports Ukraine’s struggle to preserve its territorial integrity,” Mr. Erdogan said.

Turkey has sided with Ukraine throughout the recent crisis despite Mr. Erdogan’s warm personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that has also bought weapons from Russia. Turkey has sold armed drones to Ukraine that Kyiv has used in the conflict with Russian separatists.

Ankara is weighing a request from Ukraine on Thursday to bar Russian warships from entering the Black Sea through two straits that Turkey controls, according to Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey. Ukraine communicated the request to Ankara on Thursday morning and made a public appeal to the Turkish government.