Ship sailing from Ukraine sinks in Romania's Black Sea economic zone after reported drone strike
A commercial vessel sailing from the Ukrainian Danube port of Reni to Turkey sank in the Black Sea after reporting that it had been struck by a drone, Romanian officials said. All 12 crew members were rescued.
The Dominican Republic-flagged PROGRESS IV was sailing in Romania's exclusive economic zone, outside the country's territorial waters, when a fire broke out aboard the vessel on Aug. 27.
Romania's acting Defense Minister Radu Miruță said the ship reported through an alert system that it had been hit by a drone. Romanian President Nicușor Dan said the vessel had been struck but cautioned that authorities had not yet established who was responsible or what had hit it.
“There will be an investigation and everything will be established, but we should not speculate,” Dan said.
All 12 crew members - eight Ukrainians and four Azerbaijanis - were rescued by the Romanian Coast Guard and another commercial vessel. One sailor suffered an arm injury and required medical treatment. The crew members are not in life-threatening condition.
The ship was carrying sugar and peas and had no flammable cargo aboard, according to Romanian media. Authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the incident.
Russia has repeatedly attacked commercial shipping and Ukrainian port infrastructure in the Black Sea. Several foreign-flagged civilian vessels were hit in Russian attacks in July, killing and injuring crew members and disrupting traffic through Ukraine's maritime corridor.