Seven crew members of the tanker Wine Trader were still missing on Thursday night (15) after the ship caught fire in the Black Sea about 24 kilometres (13 nautical miles) southeast of Sulina, on Romania's coast. Of the 12 people aboard, five were rescued.
The San Marino-flagged vessel was carrying chemicals and was sailing from Tunisia to Romania. The fire was reported at around 7am local time (04:00 GMT), at a point roughly one mile beyond the edge of Romanian territorial waters.
It was the second ship struck in the same area in under 24 hours. On Wednesday night (14), the Yara J, a Comoros-flagged chemical and oil tanker, reported a fire 8 to 10 miles southeast of Sulina — this one inside Romanian waters. The crew put out the flames themselves, and nobody was hurt.
Both ships were anchored near the mouth of the Sulina canal, which links the Black Sea to the Danube. Since Ukraine's Black Sea ports became a recurring target of Russian attacks, the river route running alongside Romania and Bulgaria has taken on greater weight in moving Ukrainian cargo.
"Two drones hit them"
Romanian President Nicuşor Dan addressed the case during the European Union leaders' meeting. "Two drones hit them," he said. According to him, "there will be a reaction from the Romanian state" once more information is available. Dan did not attribute the attack to any country. A NATO military source said the drones were of Russian origin.
Romania's Interior Ministry sent two Black Hawk helicopters and two ships with medical teams. The ministry said the operation had to be held back by sea conditions: "At the moment, the rescue cannot be done safely because of very big waves."
NATO also reported that two other vessels were targeted overnight: the Sea Destiny, a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier, inside Romanian waters, and the Dania J, a Tanzania-flagged tanker, moored at the Ukrainian Danube port of Izmail. Neither case involved reported casualties.
At least 23 dead or missing in ten days
This week's attacks are not isolated. At least five other cargo vessels have been struck near Romania and Bulgaria over the past ten days, with at least 23 sailors dead or missing — those cases, however, took place outside the territorial waters of NATO countries, which is the relevant difference from Wednesday's and Thursday's incidents.
On Tuesday (13), two ships were hit by drones off the Bulgarian coast, and one of them sank, according to Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who summoned the Russian ambassador. Radev said Ukraine would have no reason to attack ships that serve its own trade, but added that there is no solid evidence the drones were Russian. Earlier in October, a grain carrier caught fire and sank outside Romanian waters: two people died and 11 were rescued, and Ukraine blamed Russian drones.
Neither Romania nor Bulgaria has directly blamed Russia so far.
NATO and the EU weigh a response
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte met Radev and Dan on Thursday. In a post on X, Rutte said the alliance had reinforced its eastern flank, including counter-drone capabilities. Dan said NATO will hold a summit on drone incursions into eastern European airspace.
Radev said European leaders would discuss a proposed moratorium on attacks against civilian ships in the Black Sea. Romania shares a 614-kilometre land border with Ukraine.
With information from Al Jazeera, MarineLink and statements by the Romanian Presidency and the Romanian Interior Ministry.
