Romania: 2 ships on fire in Black Sea, 7 crew missing

Romanian authorities have launched search and rescue operations in the Black Sea in a bid to find seven missing crew from a chemical tanker that caught fire overnight to Thursday.

Another vessel, also a chemical tanker, was also set on fire in the same region some hours earlier, but all its crew is said to be safe.

The fires occurred after Russian drones strayed into Romanian airspace, though Romanian officials have so far not explicitly said the unmanned aircraft caused the blazes.

However, there have been drone strikes on at least five other cargo ships off the coasts of Romanian and neighboring Bulgaria — both NATO members — in the past 10 days, with at least 23 sailors lost in those incidents.

What do we know about the ship fires in the Black Sea?

Both ships were anchored near the mouth of the Sulina Canal leading to the Black Sea out of the Danube River when they caught fire.

Romania's naval authority said it launched its search and rescue operation after receiving an emergency alert from the San Marino-flagged tanker Wine Trader.

Five of the 12 crew members were said to be safe, while seven were missing.

"Whether it was struck by a drone or not, an investigation is currently underway," Defense Minister Radu Miruta told the Digi24 television channel.

"This is a matter of significant gravity, given that such incidents are occurring in Romanian territorial waters," he said.

The other fire, which broke out earlier, occurred onboard the Comoros-flagged chemical and oil tanker Yara J.

Ships often use the canal as a place to anchor in the case of delays caused by weather or congestion.

Growing attacks in the Black Sea

Romania, which shares a 614-km (381-mile) border with Ukraine, much of it along the Danube, has reported repeated breaches of its airspace by Russian drones over the past four years during Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

The Danube and its ports are now frequently used by Ukrainian vessels as Ukraine's Black Sea ports come under attack from Russian forces.

Ukrainian ships are also choosing routes in the Black Sea close to the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania.

This comes as shipping in the Black Sea has come under increasing attacks in recent months that have drastically reduced grain transports from both Ukraine and Russia, both major cereal exporters.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said on Thursday that the EU, of which both his country and Romania are members, will discuss a proposed moratorium on attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea at its ongoing summit in Brussels.

Bulgaria summoned the Russian ambassador over the sinking of a ship off the country's coast on Tuesday following a drone attack.