Two people lost their lives and others were rescued following a fire on a ship in the Black Sea, outside Romanian territorial waters, as announced today by Romanian authorities, while Ukraine attributed the incident to an attack by Russian drones.
The Romanian Ministry of the Interior reported that 11 crew members of the sunken ship were rescued. The country’s Maritime Authority stated that the incident involved a fire on the ship “Royad Mammadov.”
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
A Look Back at Apollon’s International Soccer Players
Romania did not comment on the cause of the fire, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that it was caused by Russian drones. “A horrific attack by two Russian drones against a non-combat vessel in neutral waters, which was carrying corn and belonged to Turkey. The ship was carrying citizens of Azerbaijan and India,” he wrote on X.
Russian authorities did not immediately comment. A previous daily press release from the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that Russia had struck two cargo ships.
Romanian media had reported earlier that the incident occurred near an oil platform operated by the Romanian energy company OMV Petrom, which told the Romanian website HotNews.ro that the platform is operating normally.
The ship, which was sailing under the flag of St. Kitts and Nevis, was headed for Ravenna, Italy, and had last anchored at the Ukrainian port of Izmail, according to the website VesselFinder.com.
Romania, a NATO member, shares a 614-kilometer land border with Ukraine. Since the start of the war between Ukraine and Russia four years ago, it has observed Russian drones violating its airspace, as well as mines floating in the Black Sea along key trade and energy routes.
READ ALSO: People lining up at gas stations with 20 euros | AlphaNews
