The first ship hit was Yara J, an empty oil tanker, hit on Wednesday, October 14, possibly by a drone, in Romanian territorial waters.
Empty oil tanker on fire
The ship had been anchored approximately nine nautical miles (around 16.7 km) from the coast, according to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC), when a fire broke out.
The Romanian Agency for Saving Human Life at Sea (ARSVOM) reported that at 20:25, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) requested the agency’s intervention to carry out a rescue mission involving the Yara J.
Minutes later, the sailors on board the ship told the MRCC the fire had been extinguished and that everyone on board was safe, and they did not need support or assistance.
The Yara J, sailing under the flag of the Comoros Islands, was coming from Turkey and heading towards Izmail, where it was due to load oil. The ship had 17 sailors on board. Fortunately, no crew members were injured.
“The vessel was attacked, apparently not very seriously. The crew managed to extinguish the fire. The crew consists of 10 Indians, six Syrians, and an Iraqi captain. This is unprecedented. It is the first time a vessel has been attacked in Romanian territorial waters. (...) There is a Black Sea crisis at the moment, and we are very close to declaring this area a high-risk zone, which would practically be a catastrophe for all the countries bordering it,” said Adrian Mihălcioiu, president of the Romanian Seafarers’ Free Trade Union (SLN), cited by ProTV.
Romanian interim defense minister Radu Miruță noted that the vessel was empty, waiting for several days.
"An operation is underway to verify whether it was hit by drones or not. No drone approaching this vessel was seen on the Ministry of National Defense’s radars," he said.
The minister added that the vessel headed towards the Port of Constanța, where checks will be carried out.
The same day, the Ministry of National Defense announced that two drones had entered Romanian airspace at 20:04. Radar contact was lost with one of them, while the other headed towards Ukrainian airspace, where it was shot down. However, no connection between the incidents was announced.
Chemical tanker reportedly hit
Another vessel, the chemical tanker Wine Trader, flying the San Marino flag, appears to have been hit near Sulina on Thursday morning, October 15. The ship was arriving from Istanbul and was at the edge of Romanian territorial waters when it reported explosions and a fire in the ship's superstructure around 7 AM. Eight of the 12 crew members are missing, according to Biziday.
A rescue helicopter has been scrambled, and the search and rescue vessel Sar Apollo (ARSVOM) has been sent to the area.
During the night of Wednesday, October 14, to Thursday, October 15, NATO scrambled aircraft twice from Romanian bases because of Russian drone swarms targeting Ukraine.
The Ministry of National Defence (MApN) reported that this morning at 1:34 AM, a drone was detected southeast of Sulina. It operated in national airspace for one minute, and Spanish F-18 aircraft took off from Kogălniceanu. The drone disappeared from radar. Later, a drone swarm was detected near Snake Island, and a Ro-Alert message was sent to residents of northern Tulcea County. At the same time, two other Romanian F-16 aircraft took off from Borcea.
The Romanian Army reported that none of the drones in this second group entered national airspace, and the air alert ended at 5:46 AM.
Black Sea warzone
Before the incidents in the Romanian territorial waters, two other vessels were hit by drones off the coast of Bulgaria.
In response, Bulgarian government officials asked for an immediate intensification of monitoring and information sharing in the Black Sea region, particularly from Romania and Turkey, along with NATO structures.
Romanian president Nicușor Dan talked with Bulgarian counterpart Iliana Iotova over the phone on Wednesday, October 14, regarding the drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea. The head of state announced that they agreed that Romania and Bulgaria will cooperate closely to promote firmer counter-drone measures within the EU and NATO, in order to ensure the safety of commercial maritime transport in the Black Sea.
Bulgaria’s president said on Tuesday evening that she did not rule out activating Article 4 of NATO, which provides for consultations among allies and a possible change in defense posture.
On October 5, the Turkish vessel Royad Mammadov was hit by drones near Romania’s economic exclusion zone. Two crew members died, and another 11 were injured, making it the most serious incident recorded near the Romanian coast since the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Subsequently, the vessel CHELSEA 3, sailing under the Maltese flag and with Ukrainian owners, was hit by three aerial drones approximately 18 nautical miles east of Byala, in Bulgarian territorial waters. All 15 crew members were evacuated, and six sailors were injured in the incident. Another vessel was attacked approximately 17 nautical miles east of Krapets and sank.