Three commercial ships were hit on Saturday evening by drones near Romania’s Black Sea coast, Romanian authorities confirmed. The strikes occurred near the Sulina Canal, an important shipping route linking the Danube River with the Black Sea. This route is used by Ukraine for goods exports.
The drone attacks in the Black Sea have thus affected a key area for regional maritime trade, Reuters reports, citing Romanian authorities. No injuries were reported and crews managed to extinguish fires that broke out aboard the ships, according to Defense Minister Stefan Radu Oprea.
The ships hit include the Greek-flagged chemical tanker Evia Petrol V, the Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged bulk carrier Marsol, and the oil products tanker Ali Najafov. On Friday, Ukrainian media reported that another cargo ship, the Palau-flagged Larissa 1, was hit by a drone while sailing toward Ukraine.
Russia has denied targeting countries neighboring Ukraine with drones. Romanian Prime Minister Luca Niculescu called the drone attacks “unacceptable” and stressed that they violate international law. According to him, the attacks reflect the deterioration of the security situation caused by Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
In a post on the X platform, Niculescu pledged that Romania would take the necessary measures together with allies to strengthen security in the Black Sea. He added that Ministry of Defense radars detected aerial targets in the area. The Romanian Air Force sent fighter jets in two separate instances to investigate.
Defense Minister Stefan Radu Oprea is expected to meet with his counterparts in Brussels next week, where the security situation in the Black Sea is expected to be discussed. Oprea stressed the need for allied solidarity, expressed through surveillance aircraft patrols and counter-drone equipment.