NATO to address drone attacks in the Black Sea after seven missing off Romania

NATO to address drone attacks in the Black Sea after seven missing off Romania

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Rescuers are searching for seven sailors missing after a fire aboard a tanker in Romania’s territorial waters in the Black Sea, Reuters reported. The San Marino-flagged Wine Trader sent a distress signal at about 7 a.m. on October 15. Of the 12 people aboard, four were rescued and seven remain missing. That same night, another vessel, the Comoros-flagged chemical tanker Yara J, caught fire in the Black Sea. No one was injured, and the crew managed to put out the fire on its own. Both ships were anchored off Romania’s coast when the fires broke out, Reuters reported.

Local authorities, however, have not yet linked the fires to a Russian drone attack. At least five other cargo ships have come under drone attack off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria over the past 10 days, according to Reuters. All those attacks took place outside NATO territorial waters and killed 23 sailors.

NATO will put drone strikes in the Black Sea on its agenda at a meeting next week, officials said Thursday, following two new attacks and the disappearance of seven people. Incidents involving civilian vessels in the Black Sea have been on the rise off the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania in a suspected spillover from Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Romanian President Nicosur Dan said the trend was "unacceptable" and "has to stop". One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. "The situation in the Black Sea is serious. Commercial ships are being attacked and sunk. Seafarers killed, injured, and missing, very close to the shores of Romania and Bulgaria," he said.

Writing on X after a meeting with the leader of Bulgaria and NATO chief Mark Rutte in Brussels to discuss the issue, Romanian President Nicosur Dan said the trend was "unacceptable" and "has to stop".

The attacks are the latest in a series off the coast of Romania and neighbouring Bulgaria in recent weeks.

The situation in the Black Sea is serious. Commercial ships are being attacked and sunk. Seafarers killed, injured, and missing, very close to the shores of Romania and Bulgaria," he said.

Lives, global trade, and critical infrastructure are at stake."

Romania said it was probing a possible drone attack on the Comoros-flagged tanker, Yara J. It said a fire had broken out on board but the ship's crew managed to douse the flames themselves.

Then, at around 7:00am (0400 GMT) on Thursday, Romanian authorities reported a fire had broken out on another ship – the Wine Trader – approximately 13 nautical miles southeast of the Romanian city of Sulina.

The VesselFinder tracking website identified the ship – which was flying the San Marino flag – as a chemical tanker.

Speaking at the European Union summit in Brussels, Dan said both ships had been "hit" by "air drones".