Eight of 12 crew members are missing after a tanker caught fire off Romania’s coast, naval authorities say, and there are reports of explosions on board.
The San Marino-flagged Wine Trader was 13 nautical miles (24km) east of the mouth of the River Danube at Sulina, when it reported blasts and a fire on Thursday morning.
The west coast of the Black Sea has recently seen a spate of drone attacks, and reports from nearby ships say the tanker was hit by two drones. Russian drones were detected overnight not far from the scene – near Ukraine’s Snake Island.
Russia said two cargo ships with military cargo heading to Ukraine’s Odesa port were hit during the sea crossing. It did not name the vessels.
On Tuesday, two merchant ships were struck by drones further south along the coast of Bulgaria, Romania’s neighbour, and one of the vessels sank leaving 11 crew members missing.
Bulgaria said it suspected Russia was behind that attack, summoning the country’s envoy.
A search and rescue operation for the eight missing members of the Wine Trader continues, Romania’s authorities have said. Two Black Hawk helicopters and two rescue boats have been deployed.
The Romanian interior ministry has released a video showing one of the helicopters hovering above the vessel.
The priority is now to reach the four crew members confirmed to be alive, while ensuring the safety of rescue teams with very high waves reported in the area.
The tanker, which was sailing from Tunisia to Romania, reported several explosions on board at about 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT).
The presidents of Romania and Bulgaria are due to discuss today whether Article 4 of the Nato treaty should be invoked.
This allows any member of the military alliance to request consultations with its allies if it believes its territorial integrity or security is threatened.