BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian authorities launched a search and rescue operation off the Black Sea coast on Thursday after a drone struck a ship and then burst into flames, the latest in a series of attacks that raised concerns that Russia’s war in Ukraine is spreading.
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Five people were rescued after the San Marino-flagged Wine Trader, a chemical tanker bound for Romania from Tunisia, was attacked and caught fire about 13 nautical miles (15 miles) southeast of the port city of Sulina, according to the Romanian Naval Administration. Seven others are still missing.
Romanian President Nicosol Dan said in Brussels that the cargo ship was hit by a drone, as was another ship in a separate incident the night before. Dan did not specify the origin of the drone.
“The Romanian government will react,” he said.
Similar drone incursions occurred this month in the exclusive economic zones of NATO and EU members Romania and Bulgaria.
According to preliminary medical assessments, one person rescued from the wine merchant suffered scalp burns and another suffered mild smoke inhalation, while the other three appeared to be uninjured, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said.
A fire also broke out on Wednesday night on the Comoros-flagged chemical tanker Yara J, which was sailing from Türkiye to Sulina, Romania, in Romanian territorial waters. The crew is safe.
The Romanian Ministry of Defense said earlier that a “group of aerial targets” was detected at night near Ukraine’s Snake Island, and that a drone briefly entered Romanian airspace southeast of Sulina at 1:34 a.m. before disappearing from radar.
Romanian Acting Defense Minister Radu Miruta said that the investigation was ongoing, but the drone was not detected on military radar flying towards the “Yara J”.
Drone strikes on two ships off the Bulgarian coast on Tuesday prompted emergency rescue operations for the 11 crew members of the Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo ship HS Dignity who are still missing.
The other ship was a Ukrainian-operated coastal cargo ship named Chelsea 3, flying the Maltese flag. Rescuers evacuated all 15 crew members, five of whom are being treated for minor injuries. Crews reported that the ship’s deck and hull were hit by three drones.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Russia was likely responsible for Tuesday’s incident, a week after sea and air drone attacks targeted two other commercial ships in Bulgaria’s Black Sea exclusive economic zone. A Togo-flagged ship sank and a Bulgarian ferry evacuated 18 crew members from a damaged Palau-flagged ship.
A day earlier, on October 5, a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying corn caught fire after a drone strike and subsequently sank in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania. Two people died and 11 crew members were rescued.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Thursday that he met with Radev and Dan to discuss Black Sea security and “the latest attacks on commercial shipping.”
“NATO has strengthened our posture on the eastern flank, including enhancing counter-drone capabilities,” he said. “NATO will continue to work closely with our allies in the Black Sea to adjust our deterrence and defense posture as needed.”
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