NATO’s Black Sea flank on alert after series of attacks

A chemical tanker has reported a suspected drone strike inside Romanian territorial waters.

The Comoros-flagged Yara J was anchored approximately 10 nautical miles southeast of Sulina on Wednesday evening when its crew reported an explosion and fire onboard.

The vessel, which was in ballast and reportedly preparing to enter the Danube, extinguished the fire without outside assistance. All crewmembers were reported safe.

Romania’s defence minister Radu Miruță said an investigation was underway, stressing that military radar had not detected a drone approaching the ship. The tanker is expected to undergo an inspection in Constanța.

Unlike the previous attacks in the exclusive economic zones of Romania and Bulgaria, both NATO members, Wednesday’s incident occurred inside Romanian territorial waters.

The latest incident follows five reported drone attacks on merchant shipping off the two countries since October 5, with three vessels sinking.

Bulgarian prime minister Rumen Radev has suggested Russia was behind the attacks, although he acknowledged that definitive evidence was lacking. Moscow’s ambassador to Sofia has suggested the incidents could have involved a third party.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed on Wednesday that its forces had struck a dry cargo ship heading towards Odesa. It followed this morning with claims of attacks on two more dry cargo vessels bound for the Ukrainian port, alongside strikes against infrastructure at the Danube port of Izmail. The claims have not been independently verified, and the ships have not been identified.

Romania has meanwhile scrambled fighter jets repeatedly following drone incursions near the Danube delta. Two aerial targets entered Romanian airspace on Wednesday evening, with one subsequently destroyed by Ukrainian air defences near Reni. Another drone was detected over Romanian territorial waters southeast of Sulina at 01.34 this morning, prompting further deployments of Spanish F-18s and Romanian F-16s.

The escalating attacks are now prompting coordinated regional action. Bulgaria is working with Türkiye and Romania on an initiative to protect commercial shipping in the Black Sea, foreign minister Velislava Petrova-Chamova announced in Berlin yesterday.

“This is actually an initiative in which we should involve all our European partners. We all bear a common responsibility,” she said.

Petrova-Chamova also highlighted plans to establish a Black Sea Maritime Security Centre, with operations in Varna and Constanța, to improve surveillance and protect critical infrastructure.

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