Romania blames Russia for ship attack in the Black Sea

Romania blames Russia for ship attack in the Black Sea

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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, according to DW News. The attack occurred on Friday morning, with the drone striking the Comoros-flagged vessel Khoryv, which was carrying 13 Ukrainian and Azeri sailors. The ship was hit near Romanian territorial waters, approximately 13 nautical miles off the port of Constanta.

The attack is the latest in a series of drone strikes 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, as reported by Al Jazeera English. 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.

Romania launched a rescue operation after the Khoryv sent a distress signal about 10am local time (0700 GMT), with nine sailors rescued, three missing, and one body recovered during a search and rescue operation hampered by poor weather conditions and low visibility, according to Al Jazeera English.

Romania, Ukraine, 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, as reported by DW News. NATO said on Tuesday that it would send more maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems, and drones to the Black Sea.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan condemned the attack, calling it “a new example of the tragic consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine”, while Romanian Prime Minister Luca Niculescu said the attack was “unacceptable and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law”, as reported by Al Jazeera English.

Moldova’s Foreign Ministry also weighed in, stating that “Russia’s continued escalation in the Black Sea endangers civilian lives, threatens freedom of navigation and undermines regional security”, as reported by Al Jazeera English.

The attack has raised concerns about Russian provocation in waters at the edge of or controlled by NATO members, with Bulgaria also raising similar concerns, as reported by DW News.

Romania and Bulgaria have called on NATO to do more to protect commercial shipping in the Black Sea, with NATO sending more maritime patrol aircraft and radar systems to the region without blaming any country for the attacks, as reported by DW News.

The European Commission has also condemned the increasing attacks on vessels in the Black Sea, with President Ursula von der Leyen calling it “unacceptable” that “the Black Sea has become another front of escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine”, as reported by DW News.