On Monday, a cargo ship owned by a Turkish company and carrying grain was attacked by at least one drone in the Black Sea; the vessel caught fire and ultimately sank. According to Romanian authorities reported by Euronews Romania, the incident resulted in the death of the captain and another crew member, three were injured, and one person is missing. Romanian ships and helicopters rescued 11 crew members after the vessel caught fire due to explosions; the search for the missing sailor continues approximately 20 miles off the Romanian coast. As reported by Euronews Romania, the affected vessel was the cargo ship Royad Mammadov, owned by the Turkish company MG Shipping 5 and sailing under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis. According to maritime traffic tracking services, the ship was last recorded about three hours before the attack, when it left the Ukrainian port of Izmail and was heading to Ravenna, Italy. According to Romania Journal, drones attacked Royad Mammadov on Monday morning near the Neptune Deep project platform (a natural gas extraction project on the Romanian shelf of the Black Sea). Romanian authorities have not yet named a suspect in this attack, however, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of delivering a "horrific strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel carrying corn in neutral waters." "Ukraine has repeatedly proposed specific steps to de-escalate the situation and ensure safety in the Black Sea. Relevant proposals have also come from third countries," Zelensky stated. "But Russia consistently chooses terror and the sinking of civilian vessels instead of normal navigation. Pressure is needed to restore global food security. And everyone who is genuinely interested in this must help." This incident occurred against the backdrop of increasing cases of drone incursions into the airspace near Romanian ports on the Black Sea and a rise in violations of Romanian airspace by Russian drones in recent months. Eastern flank countries of Europe, including NATO member Romania, are facing an increasingly mass appearance of UAVs. Turkey is also a NATO member. In August, a fighter jet destroyed an explosives-laden maritime drone near the largest gas field in Europe in the Black Sea. This happened just hours after another drone violated Romanian airspace and crashed near the Ukrainian border. Romanian President Nicușor Dan placed the blame for this incident on Russia and condemned Moscow's actions, calling them an escalation of "irresponsible incidents." The incident that occurred on Monday took place within Romania's exclusive economic zone, approximately 9 nautical miles from the Pescăruș platform.
