Romania: Two Ships Catch Fire in the Black Sea, 7 Crew Members Missing

Two chemical tankers caught fire in Romanian territorial waters in the Black Sea. The fires broke out after Russian drones were spotted in Romania's airspace.

2 ships caught fire on the Black Sea coast of Romania, 7 crew members are missing

10/15/2026 October 15, 2026 Two chemical tankers caught fire in Romanian territorial waters in the Black Sea. These fires occurred after the sighting of Russian drones in Romanian airspace.

Romanian authorities have launched a search and rescue operation in the Black Sea in an attempt to find the seven missing crew members of a chemical tanker that caught fire overnight on Thursday.

Another vessel, which was also a chemical tanker, was set on fire in the same area a few hours ago, but it is said that all its crew are safe.

The fires occurred after Russian drones were diverted into Romanian airspace, although Romanian authorities have so far not specifically said the drone caused the fires.

However, in the past 10 days there have been drone attacks on at least five other cargo ships off the coast of neighboring Romania and Bulgaria - both NATO members - in which at least 23 sailors died.

What do we know about the ship fire in the Black Sea?

Both ships were anchored near the mouth of the Sulina Canal, which leads from the Danube River to the Black Sea, when they caught fire.

Romanian Navy officials announced that they had launched a search and rescue operation after receiving an emergency alert from the San Marino-flagged Wine Trader.

Five of the 12 crew members are said to be safe and seven are missing.

Defense: "Whether it was hit by a drone or not, the investigation is currently underway," Minister Radu Mirota told the TV channel Digi 24.

"This is very important considering that such incidents occur in Romanian territorial waters," he said.

Another early fire broke out on the Comoros-flagged tanker Yarra J.

Ships often use the canal as a place to anchor in case of delays due to weather or congestion.

Romania, which shares a 614-kilometer (381-mile) border with Ukraine, most of it along the Danube River, has reported violations of its airspace by Russian drones over the past four years during Moscow's all-out invasion of its neighbor.

The Danube and its ports are now often used by Ukrainian ships, as Ukraine's Black Sea ports are under attack by Russian forces.

Ukrainian ships also choose routes in the Black Sea near the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania.

Meanwhile, shipping in the Black Sea has come under increasing attacks in recent months, which has severely reduced grain shipments from Ukraine and Russia, both major grain exporters.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Roman Radev said on Thursday that the European Union, of which his country and Romania are members, will discuss a proposed moratorium on attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea at its current meeting in Brussels.

Bulgaria summoned Russia's ambassador after a ship sank off its coast on Tuesday following a drone attack.

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Timothy Jones is a writer, translator and editor with DW's online news team.