Seven sailors missing after drones hit two ships near Romania

BUCHAREST, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Rescuers searched on Thursday for seven ‌missing sailors after drones ​struck two chemical ​tankers near Romania's Black Sea coast, setting them ablaze and raising fresh security concerns along a vital shipping route used by Ukraine.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan said the two ships had been struck by drones but declined to say whether Russia was responsible, while ‌a NATO military source said the drones came from Russia.

"The drones that caused the fires on board two tankers inside ⁠Romanian territorial waters were of Russian origin," the NATO source said.

The two vessels were anchored near the mouth of the Sulina canal leading into the Danube River, a major export route ‌used by Ukraine as Russia has repeatedly attacked ‌Ukraine's Black Sea ports. One was inside Romanian territorial waters and the other just outside.

The missing crew were among 12 sailors aboard the San Marino-flagged tanker Wine Trader, which was hit 13 nautical miles southeast of the Sulina canal, one mile outside Romanian waters. Five crew members were rescued, ​Romanian officials said.

The second vessel, the Comoros-flagged chemical and oil tanker Yara J, caught fire after being struck 8-10 miles southeast of Sulina inside Romanian waters late on Wednesday. All crew were safe.

The attacks are the latest in a series of strikes on commercial shipping in the western Black ⁠Sea. At least five other cargo vessels have been hit near the coasts of Romania and neighbouring NATO member Bulgaria over the past 10 days, with at least 23 sailors reported missing or dead. ​Those attacks occurred outside NATO territorial waters.

"The situation in the Black Sea is serious," Romania's Dan said. "Commercial ships are being attacked and sunk. Seafarers killed, injured, and missing, very close to the shores of Romania and Bulgaria. Lives, ​global trade, and critical infrastructure are at stake."

SEARCH FOR MISSING SAILORS

The interior ministry said ‌it had sent two Black Hawk helicopters to the search and rescue mission, as well as two ships with medical staff on board.

"At the moment, the rescue cannot be done safely because of very big waves," it said in a ⁠statement.

NATO said in a statement it was in contact with Romanian officials. It added two other vessels had been targeted in the Black Sea overnight, Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Sea Destiny inside Romanian waters and Tanzanian-flagged tanker Dania J, moored in the Ukrainian Danube port of Izmail. It did not mention casualties.

"NATO will continue to work closely with our ⁠Allies in the Black Sea, adjusting our deterrence and defence posture as needed," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said after meeting Dan and Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev on ​Thursday.

ATTACKS ON BLACK SEA SHIPPING

Romania shares a 614-km (381-mile) border with Ukraine, much of it along the Danube, and has repeatedly reported Russian drone incursions into its airspace since the start of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The escalating attacks on Black Sea shipping have heightened concerns over grain exports from the region.

Russian attacks on Ukraine's own Black Sea ‌ports have forced Kyiv to rely increasingly on Danube ports and shipping routes close to the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria. Ukraine, for its part, has targeted Russian vessels near the mouth of the Don River in the ‌Azov Sea.

Bulgaria's Radev said EU leaders would discuss a proposed moratorium on attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea.

"We're looking at the Black Sea as a global food ⁠artery," Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu told a security conference ‌in Warsaw earlier this week.

"It is currently, unfortunately, ​the deadliest sea when it comes to the number of casualties of sailors in the last months. That means we need to increase our investments in deterrence, defence."

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie, additional reporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by Alexandra Hudson, Toby Chopra ‌and Ros Russell)

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