Drone strikes ships in Romanian waters amid Ukraine war

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 15 Oct, 18:32 · Archive

A drone struck a chemical tanker off Romania's Black Sea coast, causing a fire and leaving seven people missing.

Romanian authorities launched search and rescue operations off the Black Sea coast on Thursday after a drone struck the Wine Trader, a San Marino-flagged chemical tanker travelling from Tunisia to Romania. The ship caught fire approximately 13 nautical miles southeast of the port town of Sulina. Five people were rescued from the vessel, but seven others remain missing. Initial medical assessments found one person with scalp burns and another with mild smoke inhalation; three others appeared unharmed.

A second incident occurred the night before when fire was reported on the Comoros-flagged Yara J, a chemical and oil tanker travelling from Turkey to Sulina in Romanian territorial waters. The crew of that vessel was safe. Romania's Ministry of National Defense said a 'group of air targets' was monitored overnight near Ukraine's Snake Island, and a drone briefly entered Romanian airspace at 1:34 a.m. southeast of Sulina before disappearing from radar.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan confirmed that both cargo vessels had been struck by drones, though he did not state the drones' origin. He said there would be 'a reaction from the Romanian state'. Similar drone incursions have occurred this month in the exclusive economic zones of Romania and Bulgaria, both NATO and European Union members, raising concerns that Russia's war in Ukraine may be spreading beyond Ukrainian territory.

How it is being reported

• Drone strike and fire on ship in Romanian waters raise fears that war in Ukraine is spreadingRomanian authorities have launched search and rescue operations off the Black Sea coast after a drone struck a ship, causing it to catch fire.Clickorlando · 15 Oct, 09:39
• Drone strike and fire on ship in Romanian waters raise fears that war in Ukraine is spreadingRomanian authorities have launched search and rescue operations off the Black Sea coast after a drone struck a ship, causing it to catch fire.News4Jax · 15 Oct, 09:39

In this story: Romania · Ukraine · Nicusor Dan · Wine Trader · Yara J · Sulina · Bulgaria · Snake Island

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem