Two Tankers Catch Fire off Romania, Seven Sailors Missing

Two chemical tankers caught fire off Romania’s Black Sea coast overnight on October 15. Seven of the 12 crew members aboard Wine Trader remain missing, while five were rescued.

Incident details

According to Reuters, the San Marino-flagged tanker Wine Trader was struck 13 nautical miles southeast of the Sulina Canal, one mile outside Romanian territorial waters.

Both vessels were anchored near the canal’s mouth: one was inside Romanian waters and the other just beyond them. Romania deployed two Black Hawk helicopters and two vessels carrying medical personnel for the search-and-rescue operation.

Romanian president’s statement

Romanian President Nicușor Dan said two aerial drones had struck the vessels but did not identify their origin. He also said Romania would respond to the incident.

Romanian officials reported that Russian drones had entered the country’s airspace before the incident.

During the preceding ten days, at least five other cargo ships were struck by drones near the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria. Those attacks occurred outside NATO states’ territorial waters.