Romania on Friday blamed Russia for a drone strike that sank a cargo ship off its Black Sea coast, killing one crew member and leaving three others missing.1,2,4
The vessel, the Comoros-flagged Khoryv, had 13 crew members on board, 10 Ukrainian citizens and three Azerbaijanis. It departed Turkey on Wednesday and was headed for Romania's Sulina port, which links the Danube River to the Black Sea, according to the shipping data website MarineTraffic.1,2
The reports differ on where the ship went down. Al Jazeera put the location at 13 nautical miles (24km) off the port of Constanta, just outside Romania's territorial waters, while the New York Post said the ship sank about 15 miles east of Constanta, near those waters. Romania launched a rescue operation after the Khoryv sent a distress signal at about 10am local time, or 0700 GMT.1,2
Romania's naval authority said the ship caught fire and sank, and that nine of its crew had been rescued, three were missing and one body had been recovered. The search was hampered by poor weather and low visibility, and the authority said a helicopter could not be deployed because of unfavorable weather conditions.1,2
Video released by Romanian authorities showed only part of the capsized hull still visible above the rough seas as the ship went down.1,2
Al Jazeera said at least seven cargo ships had been hit and 30 sailors reported killed or missing in the past two weeks off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria. The New York Post gave a different count, saying at least seven other cargo vessels had been attacked this month off the same coasts, leaving two people dead and 25 missing. DW described the Khoryv as believed to be the fourth merchant vessel attacked off the coast of Romania this month.1,2,4
The attacks have hit shipping routes that matter to Ukraine. The Sulina canal has become the primary route for Ukrainian exporters, who rely on Danube ports and Romanian territorial waters, as Russia has attacked Ukraine's own Black Sea ports. Two weeks ago, two merchant vessels were set ablaze in the western Black Sea, and one of them was inside Romanian territorial waters.1,4
Bulgaria, also a NATO member, has blamed Russia for edging too close to its exclusive economic zone after merchant ships were hit by drones near its coastline earlier this month. Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria have called on NATO to "fast-track the additional surveillance capabilities" to protect commercial shipping.1,4
Romanian President Nicusor Dan blamed Russia for the attack. "This attack is a new example of the tragic consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine," Dan said. "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.1,2,4
Romanian Prime Minister Luca Niculescu said on Facebook that the attack was "unacceptable and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law." EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the attacks "reckless" and said they "target innocent lives and openly defy international law." Moldova's Foreign Ministry said on X that "Russia's continued escalation in the Black Sea endangers civilian lives, threatens freedom of navigation and undermines regional security."1
Russian officials did not immediately publicly comment on Friday's sinking. Russia has previously denied it is responsible for deadly drone attacks in the region. Romanian pilots on air policing duties had shot down two drones over Romanian territorial waters in the Black Sea on Saturday, before the sinking.1,2
NATO said earlier this week that it would send more maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems and drones to the Black Sea. It has not blamed any country for the attacks.1,4,6
"Rescue teams continue search operations to identify and rescue the other three crew members," the naval authority said.2,1
