Two Killed as Cargo Ship Sinks in Black Sea, Ukraine Accuses Russia of Drone Strike

Two people have died after a commercial cargo ship caught fire and later sank in the Black Sea off Romania, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blaming Russian drones for the incident.

Romanian authorities said 11 crew members were rescued after the vessel, identified as the Royad Mammadov, caught fire on Monday while sailing within Romania’s exclusive economic zone, about 30 nautical miles (55 kilometres) south of Sfântu Gheorghe in Tulcea County.

The Romanian Interior Ministry said the Coast Guard was alerted at about 11 a.m. local time. Search-and-rescue teams were deployed, with helicopters used to evacuate injured crew members for medical treatment. The vessel subsequently sank.

Romanian authorities have not officially established what caused the fire or confirmed that the vessel was struck by a drone. Romanian media, however, reported that the ship may have been hit by one or more drones before the blaze broke out.

Zelenskyy said the ship was targeted by two Russian drones while carrying corn in what he described as an attack on a civilian vessel in neutral waters. He said the ship was Turkish-owned and that its crew included Azerbaijani and Indian nationals.

The ship was sailing under the flag of St Kitts and Nevis and had reportedly departed from Ukraine’s Danube port of Izmail, carrying a cargo of grain to Ravenna in Italy. Reuters reported that the vessel’s last port of call appeared to have been Izmail, which it left on September 18.

Romanian Naval Authority spokesperson Irina Puscasu said three crew members were injured and eight others were unharmed after being rescued, with those requiring treatment evacuated by helicopter. The captain was among the two people who died, according to Zelenskyy.

Russia’s Defence Ministry had reported earlier strikes on two cargo vessels in the wider Black Sea region but did not specifically refer to the Royad Mammadov incident, Reuters reported.

The incident adds to growing concerns over the safety of commercial shipping in the Black Sea, where civilian vessels and maritime infrastructure have increasingly been exposed to the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Turkey, which has a large commercial shipping presence in the region, has repeatedly expressed concern about attacks and other dangers facing its vessels and seafarers. AFP reported that Turkey’s Chamber of Maritime Commerce said last month that 226 civilian and commercial vessels had been attacked in the Black Sea since the beginning of the war, with most of the incidents occurring this year.

Romania, a NATO member bordering Ukraine, has also faced repeated incidents involving drones and other war-related objects in and around its airspace and Black Sea waters.

The latest incident is likely to add to pressure on countries around the Black Sea to strengthen protections for commercial shipping as attacks and military activity continue to expand beyond the immediate front lines.