Drones struck two chemical tankers off Romania’s Black Sea coast on Wednesday and Thursday, setting both vessels ablaze and leaving seven sailors missing. The attacks are the latest in a wave of drone strikes on commercial shipping near NATO’s southeastern flank — seven vessels have now been hit in the last 10 days, with at least 23 sailors dead or missing.
Key takeaways
- Drones hit two chemical tankers near the Romanian port of Sulina on Wednesday and Thursday nights; five sailors were rescued and seven are missing.
- Romanian President Nicușor Dan confirmed both strikes and vowed “a reaction from the Romanian state,” without naming who launched the drones.
- A NATO military source said the drones were of Russian origin, according to Dawn; Romania’s president has not assigned blame.
- At least seven commercial vessels have been struck near Romania and Bulgaria in the past 10 days, with 23 sailors reported dead or missing.
The overnight attacks
The first ship hit was the Comoros-flagged chemical and oil tanker Yara J, struck 8 to 10 miles southeast of the Sulina port late Wednesday evening, inside Romanian territorial waters. All of its crew were reported safe, according to Romanian officials.
Hours later, the San Marino-flagged chemical tanker Wine Trader, travelling from Tunisia to Romania, caught fire after a drone attack about 13 nautical miles southeast of Sulina, Romanian naval authorities said. The vessel had 12 sailors aboard; five were rescued and seven remain missing. Romanian authorities launched a search-and-rescue operation off the coast on Thursday morning.
According to initial medical assessments, one rescued sailor suffered scalp burns and another mild smoke inhalation, the Department for Emergency Situations said; the other three appeared unharmed.
A widening pattern in the Black Sea
The two strikes are the latest in a series of attacks on commercial shipping in the western Black Sea. At least seven cargo vessels have been hit near the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria — both NATO and EU members — in the past 10 days, with at least 23 sailors reported dead or missing, according to Dawn.
Earlier in the week, two cargo ships were struck by drones off Bulgaria’s coast; one sank, leaving 11 sailors missing at sea. Bulgaria’s transport ministry said search operations resumed on Wednesday after bad weather forced them to suspend the rescue on Tuesday evening.
Romania’s Ministry of National Defense said it had monitored “a group of air targets” overnight near Ukraine’s Snake Island, and that a drone briefly entered Romanian airspace at 1:34 a.m. southeast of Sulina before disappearing from radar. President Dan confirmed in Brussels that both tankers had been struck by drones but declined to say whether Russia was responsible. A NATO military source, speaking to Dawn, said the drones that struck the vessels were of Russian origin.
The fragile energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine has already broken down once this week, and these maritime attacks mark a new and more dangerous front in the conflict’s spillover.
What does NATO do next?
Dan told reporters on Thursday: “There will be a reaction from the Romanian state.” Bulgaria has summoned Russia’s ambassador after the earlier strikes, and Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said Bulgaria expects to join a NATO anti-drone initiative by October 30, according to Reuters.
The vessels were anchored near the mouth of the Sulina canal, which feeds into the Danube River — a major export route Ukraine has relied on as Russia has repeatedly attacked its Black Sea ports. The attacks threaten that route, along with the lives of civilian sailors and the stability of regional trade. Read our explainer on what NATO is and how it acts for background on how the alliance handles threats to member states.
Romania and Bulgaria now face the sharpest test yet of how NATO responds to drone warfare spilling into alliance waters without a formal attribution.
Sources: AP, Dawn, Reuters.
