By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Two crew members have been confirmed dead while 11 others were rescued after a fire broke out on a ship in the Black Sea, which later sank, Romania’s interior ministry said on Monday, without specifying what caused the blaze.
“At around 11:00, Coast Guard border police officers were informed that a fire had broken out on board a commercial vessel located within Romania’s exclusive economic zone, approximately 30 nautical miles south of Sfantu Gheorghe,” it said in a statement, referring to a fishing village on the country’s Black Sea coast.
“Eleven crew members have been rescued. Two deceased persons have also been identified,” it added.
A Romanian naval spokesperson named the ship as the 139 m long Royad Mammadov.
The defence ministry did not reply to a question on whether the vessel was possibly hit by a drone.
Drone activity has become increasingly frequent in recent months across eastern European countries as Ukraine, which borders Romania, fights off a Russian invasion launched in 2022, with both countries increasingly relying on drone warfare.
Turkiye has expressed concern over the attacks on Black Sea shipping and Turkish seafarers have staged protests over deaths suffered in the attacks.
According to Romanian authorities, the ship later sank. Those injured in the accident were rescued from the ship by a helicopter.
War-related objects found in the Black Sea have more than doubled in six months amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, maritime risk expert Ambrey said last month in a report.
The increase has been concentrated in Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish waters, with the trend expected to continue.
