Black Sea Freighter Khoryv Sinks Off Romania, 1 Dead and 3 Missing, as President Dan Blames Russia
BUCHAREST — A Comoros-flagged freighter, the Khoryv, caught fire and sank in the Black Sea about 13 nautical miles east of Constanta, Romania, on October 23, leaving one crew member dead and three missing, Romanian media and Xinhua reported. Romania's maritime authority received the alert at
around 10 a.m. local time. The vessel carried 13 crew members, including 10 Ukrainians and three Azerbaijanis; a nearby merchant vessel rescued 10 people, nine alive and one dead, and search operations continued, with poor weather and low visibility preventing helicopter deployment. Romanian media reported the ship was struck by a drone, but the official account describes only a fire, and a drone strike has not been confirmed by the authorities.
Romanian President Nicusor Dan said on October 23 that the attack again showed the tragic consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and that Russia should take U.S. and European peace initiatives seriously, accept a ceasefire proposal and end the war. Dan said the Khoryv was the eighth merchant vessel hit by drones near the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts since early October, with both governments blaming Russia and more than 20 crew members killed in the attacks. Reuters' separate count differs: at least seven vessels were attacked off Bulgaria and Romania in the past two weeks, with about 30 crew members killed or missing. The two figures come from different sources and counting scopes and are reported side by side here, not blended.
Similar incidents have recurred in the Black Sea since early October: on October 5, a grain-carrying vessel caught fire and sank, killing two people; on October 6, two merchant vessels were hit by drones in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, one sinking with crew missing; on October 13, Bulgaria's prime minister said two vessels had been attacked; and on October 15, a vessel caught fire with eight crew missing. Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria have called on NATO to do more to protect Black Sea commercial shipping.
(GSM, from Xinhua, the Romanian news agency, The Associated Press and Reuters)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：海上货船，资料图。照片：美国海军，公有领域，经Wikimedia Commons。 / A cargo ship at sea (file photo). Photo: U.S. Navy, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
