OMM Newsroom
Romanian Prime Minister Luca Niculescu said on Sunday that drones had struck three commercial vessels in the Black Sea near the Sulina Canal, AnewZ reported. Romania’s air force scrambled fighter jets twice, he said.
Defense Minister Stefan Radu Oprea said no one was injured in the attacks late on Saturday. The ships’ crews brought fires on board under control.
The Sulina Canal connects the Danube River to the Black Sea and is an important Romanian shipping route used by Ukraine for exports.
Romanian officials did not say where the drones came from but described the incidents as a direct consequence of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Niculescu called the attacks violations of international law and said the security situation was worsening because of Russia’s ongoing war.
The ministry said the vessels hit were the Greek-flagged oil and chemical tanker “Evia Petrol V,” the St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged dry cargo ship “Marsol,” and the oil products tanker “Ali Najafov.”
“Evia Petrol V” and “Marsol” were struck in Romanian territorial waters, 4 and 5 nautical miles southeast of the Sulina Canal.
Oprea separately said a general cargo ship was also hit by a drone late on Friday, with no injuries reported. The vessel was “Larissa 1,” sailing under the Palau flag, according to the Digi24 television channel.
Oprea said he would be in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday for a meeting of defense ministers. He said the allies’ support was needed both through surveillance aircraft patrols and counter-drone equipment.
France temporarily deployed an “Atlantique 2” maritime patrol aircraft to Romania after the country requested additional support. Many of the ships attacked in October and November had been anchored near the Sulina Canal or were heading toward it.
The rising number of attacks on merchant ships near NATO members Romania and Bulgaria in the Black Sea shows that the naval war between Russia and Ukraine has become a serious challenge for the transatlantic alliance. Russia has denied targeting Ukraine’s neighbours with drones.
