Romania Blames Russia After Drone Sinks Cargo Ship in the Black Sea: One Sailor Dead, Three Missing
A cargo ship has sunk after a drone strike near Romania's coast in the Black Sea, and Romania has blamed Russia for the attack. One crew member was killed and three others are missing.
The Comoros-flagged vessel Khoryv had 13 Ukrainian and Azeri sailors on board. The drone struck on Friday 13 nautical miles (24km) off Romania's port of Constanta, just outside Romania's territorial waters.
According to the shipping data website MarineTraffic, 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 and Romanian waters have become the primary route for Ukrainian exporters, who rely on ports on the Danube as Russia has attacked Ukraine's own Black Sea ports. It is on that route that this latest attack took place.
Video released by Romanian authorities showed only a small part of the capsized vessel's hull 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.
It is 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.
Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria have called on NATO to fast-track additional surveillance capabilities to protect commercial shipping. NATO said on Tuesday that it would send more maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems and drones to the Black Sea.
Romania's President Nicusor Dan called the attack a new example of the tragic consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. He said it is time for Russia to take the peace initiatives of the United States and Europe seriously, accept the ceasefire proposals and end the war.
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, saying they 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.
The search for the three missing sailors continues, hampered by poor weather. The escalation in the Black Sea has raised fresh concerns over international shipping and regional security.
