Three Commercial Ships Struck by Drones in Black Sea Near Romania's Sulina Canal, PM Says
Drones struck three commercial ships in the Black Sea near Romania's Sulina canal, Prime Minister Luca Niculescu said on Sunday, November 15, adding that Romanian armed forces had scrambled fighter jets twice, Reuters reported.
Defence Minister Stefan Radu Oprea said there were no casualties in the strikes late on Saturday and that the ships' crews had managed to control the fires on board. The three ships were the Greek-flagged oil and chemical tanker Evia Petrol V, the bulk carrier Marsol and the oil products tanker Ali Najafov, both under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Evia Petrol V and Marsol were struck 4 and 5 nautical miles southeast of the Sulina canal, inside Romanian territorial waters, the defence ministry said. Oprea said a separate general cargo ship was also hit by a drone late on Friday, with no casualties; private television station Digi24 said the vessel was the Palau-flagged Larissa 1.
Niculescu said the incidents were unacceptable and a violation of international law, reflecting the deteriorating security situation caused by Russia's war against Ukraine. Romanian officials did not identify the origin of the drones but said they were a direct consequence of Russia's war in Ukraine; Russia has denied targeting Ukraine's neighbours with drones.
The Sulina canal is a key Romanian shipping lane linking the Danube river to the Black Sea and is used by Ukraine for exports. A series of deadly strikes on merchant ships near NATO members Romania and Bulgaria in October and November has shown how the maritime war between Russia and Ukraine is expanding in the Black Sea. France has temporarily relocated an Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft to Romania after Bucharest asked for reinforcement.
Oprea said he would be in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday for a meeting with fellow defence ministers, adding that Romania needs allied solidarity shown through patrols with surveillance aircraft and equipment for counter-drone warfare.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：罗马尼亚 Sulina 的多瑙河水道与码头（资料图）。照片：Nenea hartia，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Danube channel and waterfront at Sulina, Romania (file photo). Photo by Nenea hartia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
