Shipping Companies Ramp Up Defense Investment as Drone Attacks on Commercial Vessels Drive Freight Rates to Record Highs

Add preferred source As drone attacks targeting commercial vessels spread across the Black Sea and the Middle East, shipping companies are accelerating investment in shipboard defense systems. Counter-drone specialists including Marss, Drone Defence, and D-Fend Solutions report a surge in inquiries from shipowners. With combatants in the Gulf and Black Sea increasingly striking merchant ships to disrupt critical commodity supply chains, defense equipment has emerged as a new cost item for the industry. Casualties have mounted, with more than 20 seafarers killed in the Gulf and approximately 30 in the Black Sea. Charter rates for very large crude carriers transiting the Strait of Hormuz hit a record $1.2 million per day. Defense system installations cost roughly $500,000, while vessels unable to afford high-end equipment are resorting to simpler measures such as nets and water tanks.