Drone Attacks Strike Four Vessels in the Black Sea off Romania's Coast
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An undetermined number of drones struck the tankers Wine Trader and Yara J overnight on Wednesday, October 14, while they were anchored near the mouth of the Sulina Canal, on Romania's Black Sea coast. Both fires reignited concerns over the safety of a key shipping route for Ukrainian exports. Romanian President Nicusor Dan confirmed that both vessels were hit by unmanned vehicles, though he stopped short of directly attributing responsibility to Russia, while a NATO military source did point to Moscow as responsible.
Seven Missing from the Wine Trader
The Wine Trader, a San Marino-flagged tanker carrying 12 crew members, was hit about 13 nautical miles southeast of the Sulina Canal, just one mile from the boundary of Romanian territorial waters. Five seafarers were rescued, but seven remained missing, with search efforts hampered by heavy swells and strong winds. Romania's Interior Ministry deployed Black Hawk helicopters and vessels carrying medical personnel for the rescue operation, which resumed on Friday with rescuers winched aboard the vessel by helicopter.
The Yara J and Two Other Vessels Hit
The second affected vessel, the Yara J, a Comoros-flagged chemical and oil tanker, caught fire between 8 and 10 nautical miles southeast of Sulina, within Romanian territorial waters. Its entire crew was unharmed, and the vessel was towed to the port of Constanta. NATO also reported that two other vessels were attacked that same night: the bulk carrier Sea Destiny, flying the Marshall Islands flag, hit within Romanian territorial waters, and the Tanzania-flagged Dania J, which was moored at the Ukrainian port of Izmail on the Danube, with no casualties reported in either case.
Regional Escalation and NATO Response
These attacks add to a series of assaults on commercial shipping in the western Black Sea: over the past ten days, at least five other cargo vessels were hit near the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria, resulting in at least 23 seafarers missing or dead, in incidents that mostly occurred outside the territorial waters of NATO member states. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met with Dan and Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, and stated that NATO would adjust its deterrence and defense posture as needed. Bulgaria, for its part, asked NATO to deploy fighter jets and anti-drone systems to bolster its maritime capabilities, according to Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov.
Romania shares a 614-kilometer border with Ukraine, much of it along the Danube, and has repeatedly reported Russian drone incursions into its airspace since 2022. Russian strikes on Ukraine's Black Sea ports have increasingly forced Kyiv to rely on Danube port facilities and routes close to the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria. In this context, Radev noted that European Union leaders would discuss a proposed moratorium on attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea.
