Commercial vessel Progress IV caught fire and sank in the Black Sea off Romania after being hit in an unidentified attack, President Nicușor Dan said.
The vessel was struck in Romania's exclusive economic zone, roughly 32 kilometres from the coastal settlement of Sfântu Gheorghe. All 12 crew members aboard were rescued from the water, although one sailor sustained injuries during the incident.
Dan said the ship was damaged and appeared to have sunk, adding that authorities do not yet know who launched the strike or why. He called for a full investigation and cautioned against making premature assumptions while inquiries are underway.
Romania is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization located in southeastern Europe, with a coastline running along the western edge of the Black Sea. Sfântu Gheorghe is a coastal settlement in eastern Romania, situated near the Danube Delta.
Naval divers neutralize explosive drone near Constanța
The attack on the commercial ship follows several recent maritime and security incidents in Romanian territory. On August 22, Romanian military divers discovered the wreckage of an explosive-laden Ukrainian drone near Tuzla beach in Constanța County.
Naval explosive ordnance disposal experts inspected the fragments and confirmed they belonged to a Ukrainian-made drone used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The team safely neutralized the drone's warhead through a controlled detonation on site under secure conditions.
The Ministry of National Defence stated that the case has been handed over to the prosecutor's office of the Constanța Court of Appeal. Constanța is Romania's main Black Sea port and a major regional commercial center.
Defence ministry reports surge in drone incursions
On August 25, Romania's acting national defence minister, Radu Miruță, said the presence of Ukrainian drones in the country's airspace was entirely unacceptable.
Miruță said Romanian officials are in continuous discussions with Ukrainian representatives regarding the incidents. He stressed that the government cannot accept the recurring airspace violations simply because the number of occurrences is rising.
Over a three-day period, the defence ministry logged 18 separate reports of drones. Miruță also confirmed that an unidentified drone crashed in Vrancea County after entering Romanian territory from neighbouring Moldova.
Moldova is an Eastern European nation located between Romania and Ukraine. Vrancea County sits in eastern Romania, west of the border with Moldova.
Fighter jets intercept sea drones in Black Sea
Security forces have responded to multiple aerial and naval threats in recent weeks. On August 20, a Romanian F-16 fighter jet destroyed a sea drone positioned a few hundred metres from a natural gas extraction platform in the Black Sea.
On the same day, a drone of unknown origin fell near Romania's border with Ukraine in Tulcea County. Tulcea is a border region in eastern Romania that sits adjacent to Ukrainian territory along the Danube River.
In early July, the defence ministry reported the spontaneous explosion of a sea drone in the waters of Constanța port. Military officials specified that the craft did not belong to the Romanian military and was not taking part in naval exercises.
Diplomatic tension mounts over regional security
President Dan condemned the increasing frequency of drone incidents and attributed responsibility for them to Russia. He stated that Romanian authorities, working alongside NATO allies, maintain continuous vigilance to protect national territory and counter potential provocations.
Russian Ambassador to Romania Vladimir Lipaev rejected claims regarding previous drone fragments found on Romanian soil. Lipaev said styrofoam pieces presented by Romanian authorities as Russian drone debris were an obvious propaganda staging.
