Romania is investigating a suspected drone strike on a Comoros-flagged chemical and oil tanker in its Black Sea territorial waters near Sulina, marking the latest in a series of attacks on commercial shipping in the region. The *Yara J* reported a fire around 20:25 local time on Wednesday after what crew and maritime union officials described as a drone hit, though Defense Minister Radu Miruță said authorities had not yet confirmed the cause. The 17-member crew, comprising Syrian, Indian and Iranian nationals, extinguished the blaze with no injuries and the vessel later headed toward Constanța.
The incident follows multiple drone attacks on ships off Romania and neighboring Bulgaria in recent weeks. On Oct. 6, the Togo-flagged *Alfa Watan* sank and the Palau-flagged *Able* was damaged in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, with the *Able*’s crew rescued. On Oct. 13, the Maltese-flagged, Ukrainian-owned *Chelsea 3* was hit by three drones, and the Guinea-Bissau-flagged *HS Dignity* sank off Krapets, with 11 sailors missing and presumed dead. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev told Parliament that Russia likely benefited from the attacks, though he acknowledged no direct proof of Moscow’s involvement.
Romania scrambled two F-18 jets on Wednesday after detecting “a group of air targets” over the Black Sea, and Miruță called the *Yara J* incident “a matter of significant gravity” given its occurrence in NATO territorial waters. The ship had been anchored for several days in ballast, awaiting conditions to transit toward Ukrainian Danube ports such as Izmail. Romanian search-and-rescue assets, including the vessel *SAR Apollo*, were dispatched but stood down once the crew confirmed control of the situation.
Bulgaria’s President Iliana Iotova had invited Romania and Türkiye to consultations on securing Black Sea merchant shipping after the Oct. 6 attacks. The latest strikes have renewed scrutiny of Europe’s ability to protect critical maritime routes, with experts cited by German media suggesting Russia is behind the escalation.
