Two dead after Black Sea ship fire off Romania

Two crew members died and 11 were rescued after a commercial ship caught fire and later sank in the Black Sea off Romania, Romanian authorities said.

A Romanian naval spokesperson named the 139-metre vessel as the Royad Mammadov. Romania’s interior ministry said it sank about 30 nautical miles south of the fishing port of Sfantu Gheorghe.

The ministry said Coast Guard border police were informed at around 11:00 that a fire had broken out on a commercial vessel in Romania’s exclusive economic zone. It said 11 crew members were rescued and two deceased people were identified.

Irina Puscasu, spokesperson for the Romanian Naval Authority, said three crew members were injured and eight were in good condition. Authorities said the injured were rescued by helicopter.

The cause of the fire was not given. Romania’s defence ministry did not answer when asked whether the vessel may have been hit by a drone.

Drone activity has become more frequent around eastern European countries during the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Black Sea has seen repeated war-related hazards. Maritime risk expert Ambrey said last month that war-related objects found in the Black Sea had more than doubled in six months, including unexploded ordnance, drones and other unmanned vehicles.