Romania says drones struck three ships near Sulina canal

Three commercial ships were struck by drones in the Black Sea near Romania's Sulina canal late on Saturday, Prime Minister Luca Niculescu said, in an attack he called a violation of international law. No injuries were reported.

Defence Minister Stefan Radu Oprea said the crews controlled the fires that broke out on board. He named the vessels as the Greek-flagged Evia Petrol V, and the bulk carrier Marsol and the oil products tanker Ali Najafov, both sailing under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The defence ministry said Evia Petrol V and Marsol were hit 4 and 5 nautical miles southeast of the canal, inside Romanian territorial waters, CNA reported.

The Sulina canal links the Danube to the Black Sea and is used by Ukraine for exports.

Niculescu said on Sunday that Romanian radars detected aerial targets in the area and that the air force sent fighter jets up on two separate occasions. "These incidents are unacceptable and constitute a violation of international law," he said. "They reflect the deteriorating security situation caused by Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine." He pledged to take the measures needed with allies to strengthen security in the Black Sea. Euronews reported that he wrote this on X.

Romanian officials did not identify the origin of the drones. Russia has denied targeting Ukraine's neighbours with drones, according to CNA.

Oprea is due in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday for a meeting of defence ministers, where the Black Sea is expected to be discussed. "We need the solidarity of our allies, shown through patrols with surveillance aircraft and through equipment for counter-drone warfare," he said.

A separate general cargo ship was hit by a drone late on Friday, also without casualties, Oprea said. Euronews reported that Ukrainian media named it as the Palau-flagged Larissa 1, sailing towards Ukraine, while CNA attributed the name to the Romanian private television station Digi24.

CNA reported that many of the ships struck in October and November were anchored near, or sailing to and from, the Sulina canal, and that France had temporarily relocated its Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft to Romania after Bucharest asked for reinforcement.