Romania blames Russia after drone sinks ship in the Black Sea

Romania has blamed Russia for a drone strike that sank a cargo ship off Romania’s Black Sea coast, killing one crew member and leaving three others missing.

It’s the latest drone attack targeting commercial shipping off the coasts of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria, with at least seven cargo ships hit and 30 sailors reported killed or missing in the past two weeks, raising fears of an escalation in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The drone struck the Comoros-flagged vessel Khoryv and its crew of 13 Ukrainian and Azeri sailors on Friday, 13 nautical miles (24km) off Romania’s port of Constanta, just outside Romania’s territorial waters.

The shipping data website MarineTraffic showed the Khoryv departed Turkiye on Wednesday and was headed for Romania’s Sulina port, which links the Danube River to the Black Sea.

The canal has become the primary ‌‌‌‌route for Ukrainian exporters, which rely on ports on the Danube and Romanian territorial waters, as Russia has ‌‌‌‌attacked ‌‌‌‌Ukraine’s own Black Sea ports.

Video released by Romanian authorities showed only a small part of the hull of the capsized tanker still visible above ⁠⁠⁠⁠the waves as it sank.

Romania launched a rescue operation after the Khoryv sent a distress signal about 10am local time (0700 GMT).

Nine sailors were rescued, three were missing and one body was recovered during a search and rescue operation hampered by poor weather conditions and low visibility, Romania’s naval authority said.

Drone attack surge in the Black Sea

Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria have called on NATO to “fast-track the additional surveillance capabilities” to protect commercial shipping, after a surge in Black Sea drone attacks as fighting in Russia’s war on Ukraine escalates. NATO said on Tuesday that it would send more maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems and drones to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Black Sea.

Romanian and European officials blamed Russia for the attack, which Romania’s President Nicusor Dan called “a new example of the tragic consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine”.

“It is time for Russia to take peace initiatives of the United States and Europe seriously, accept the ceasefire proposals and end the war,” he said.

Romania’s Prime Minister Luca Niculescu said on Facebook that the attack was “unacceptable and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law”.

Moldova’s Foreign Ministry posted on X that “Russia’s continued escalation in the Black Sea endangers civilian lives, threatens freedom of navigation and undermines regional security”.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the attacks “reckless”, which “target innocent lives and openly defy international law.”

Russian officials did not immediately publicly comment on Friday’s sinking. It occurred after Romanian warplanes shot down two of ⁠⁠⁠⁠the latest-generation Russian drones over Romanian territorial ⁠⁠⁠⁠waters on Saturday. Russia has previously denied it is responsible for deadly drone attacks in the region.