Romania's president confirms drone strike on tanker as seven sailors are missing inside NATO waters
Damage to the Wine Trader's upper structure, after the San Marino-flagged tanker caught fire off Romania, leaving eight of its 12 crew members missing.Romanian rescuers are searching for eight missing sailors after the San Marino-flagged chemical tanker Wine Trader caught fire in territorial waters, with a second vessel also ablaze at the same Danube canal mouth…
Romanian President Nicușor Dan has confirmed that the chemical tanker Wine Trader was hit by drones, after eight crew members were reported missing and rescuers deployed two Black Hawk helicopters and two rescue boats against high waves. The San Marino-flagged vessel reported explosions and a fire at around 7am local time, at a position 13 nautical miles southeast of Sulina near the Danube Delta. Crews on nearby vessels told Romanian media the Wine Trader was struck by two drones, with a swarm of Russian drones having been detected overnight close to Ukraine's Snake Island.
The attack is the latest in a series of strikes that have killed or left missing at least 23 sailors from five other cargo ships in waters off Romania and Bulgaria over the past 10 days.
Romania and Bulgaria's leaders are due to discuss invoking Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which allows members to demand alliance-wide consultations over threats to their security.
Bulgaria's prime minister told EU leaders in Brussels a moratorium on attacks on civilian Black Sea shipping must be discussed, calling the strikes 'a flagrant violation of international law'.
