(The Turkish Post) – Eight crew members were missing after a fire broke out on a chemical tanker in Romania’s Black Sea waters off the port of Sulina on the morning of Oct. 15, the Romanian Naval Authority said, a day after another tanker caught fire in the same area.
The Black Sea tanker fire is the latest in a string of incidents involving merchant ships off Romania and Bulgaria since early October. Romanian officials had not said by midday whether a drone caused it.
Eight missing in the Black Sea tanker fire
The San Marino-flagged tanker sent a distress alert at about 7 a.m. local time reporting a fire at its bow, about 13 nautical miles southeast of Sulina, according to the Naval Authority. “There were 12 people on board the vessel. Four of them are safe, whilst eight are currently missing,” the authority said.
The authority named the ship in the Black Sea tanker fire as Wide Trader. The Romanian Maritime Search and Rescue Agency (ARSVOM) used the name Wine Trader in its alert. The vessel is a chemical tanker built in 1989, according to ship-tracking data.
The rescue agency said the national maritime coordination center asked it to assist at 6:58 a.m., and its search and rescue ship Apollo left for the area at 7:10 a.m. A helicopter from the General Aviation Inspectorate joined the search, and the Romanian Coast Guard sent two boats. The Naval Authority confirmed the fire and opened a formal search and rescue operation at 8:54 a.m. No cause for the Black Sea tanker fire had been announced by midday.
Second tanker fire near Sulina in two days
On the evening of Oct. 14, the Comoros-flagged tanker Yara J caught fire while anchored in Romanian territorial waters near Sulina, close to the Ukrainian border. Defense Minister Radu Miruta said the crew put out the fire themselves.
“Whether it was struck by a drone or not, an investigation is currently underway,” Miruta said.
Several drones entered Romanian airspace near the Ukrainian border on Oct. 14, before the Wide Trader fire, according to Romanian officials. Drones have repeatedly entered Romanian airspace near the border with Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Attacks on Black Sea shipping off Romania and Bulgaria
On Oct. 5, the Turkish-owned cargo ship Royad Mammadov sank about 30 nautical miles south of the Romanian town of Sfantu Gheorghe after a fire on board. Romanian rescuers recovered 11 crew members and the bodies of two others. The ship had loaded corn at the Ukrainian port of Izmail and was bound for Italy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed the sinking on Russia. “A horrific strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel in neutral waters,” he wrote. Romanian authorities confirmed the fire but did not say what caused it, as in the Black Sea tanker fire near Sulina.
On Oct. 13, drones hit two ships off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, and at least one of them sank. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said there was no clear evidence of who was responsible and that the Russian ambassador would be summoned.
Russia says it hit Izmail port and two cargo ships
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Oct. 15 that its forces had struck Ukraine’s Danube port of Izmail and two dry cargo ships heading to Odesa overnight. The ministry said the ships were “used for military purposes” and described the Izmail facilities as sites for handling “military and dual-use cargo.” It did not name the vessels or give details of damage or casualties.
Izmail lies on the Danube across the river from Romania, and its port has been one of Ukraine’s main routes for grain exports since Russia began targeting the Odesa ports.
Türkiye and the risks to Black Sea trade
Türkiye, which controls the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits that link the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, has called for an end to attacks on merchant ships. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan proposed a “moratorium” on such attacks in September. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the idea unrealistic.
The Istanbul and Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Sea Regions Chamber of Shipping (IMEAK) said in late August that at least 22 Turkish-owned civilian ships had been hit by drones or armed attacks in the previous two months.
The European Union adopted a Black Sea security strategy in May 2025 to protect shipping and undersea infrastructure.
