Drones strike three commercial vessels near Romanian coast

Vessel strikes near Sulina

I find the recent drone strikes on commercial shipping near the Romanian coast alarming. The Palau-flagged vessel Larissa 1 was approximately 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from the Romanian coast near Sfantu Gheorghe when the incident occurred at around 9:40 p.m. local time on November 13, according to Romanian broadcaster Digi24. This vessel was traveling toward the Romanian port of Sulina with Ukraine as its final destination. The drone damaged a cargo crane aboard the vessel. The ship’s captain reported that no crew members were injured and that the impact did not cause a fire. Romanian authorities have not identified the origin of the drone responsible for striking the vessel. On the evening of November 14, two more commercial vessels were struck by drones near Romania’s Black Sea coast, according to the Romanian Defense Ministry and news agency News.ro. At 9:10 p.m., a drone struck the Greek-flagged tanker Evia Petrol V about 4 nautical miles east-southeast of Sulina. Roughly 35 minutes later, the bulk carrier Marsol was also struck. Both vessels caught fire, but their crews extinguished the flames and no casualties occurred.

Defense monitoring and previous attacks

Romanian Defense Minister Stefan-Radu Oprea confirmed on November 14 at the military port of Constanta that authorities were notified and that an investigation was underway. He noted that authorities issued at least two alerts in Tulcea County on November 13 while monitoring drone activity near Romanian territory. I find the inability to identify the origin of these drones infuriating. The Romanian Defense Ministry also reported detecting an aerial target east of Snake Island, which prompted the deployment of two F-16 fighter jets and additional drone alerts for residents in Tulcea County. These incidents follow a series of drone attacks involving commercial shipping in the Black Sea. On October 28, drones struck a commercial vessel heading toward Constanta in Bulgarian territorial waters. One sailor died in an October 23 attack near Constanta. The attacks threaten regional maritime safety. Romania, a NATO member, shares a border with Ukraine along the Danube River and monitors drone activity near its territory during the full-scale invasion.