Developing: Seven missing after two tankers burn off Romania
Five people were rescued from the Wine Trader, while the crew of a second tanker were reported safe. Romania is investigating the fires near a key entrance to the Danube.
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by Sami Haddad
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Seven crew members were missing after two chemical tankers caught fire off Romania, prompting a search in heavy seas and the president's statement that drones struck both vessels.
The San Marino-flagged Wine Trader reported blasts and a fire on the morning of October 15, 2026. Five of its 12 crew were rescued. The Comoros-flagged Yara J, a chemical and oil tanker, had caught fire late on October 14, and all its crew were reported safe.
Both incidents occurred near the mouth of the Sulina Canal, an entrance from the Black Sea to the Danube. The route matters to Ukrainian shipping as Russian attacks put pressure on Ukraine's Black Sea ports. Romania is a NATO member, making the circumstances of the fires a security issue for the alliance as well as a maritime emergency.
Romanian President Nicușor Dan said both ships had been struck by drones. "We want to have all the information about what happened, but there will be a response from the Romanian state," he said. An unnamed NATO military source told MarineLink that the drones responsible for the fires were Russian.
Those accounts have not yet been established by the investigation. The Associated Press reported that military radar had detected no drone heading toward the Yara J and that the cause of the Wine Trader fire was not immediately clear. Russian drones were reported in Romanian airspace and near Ukraine's Snake Island, but no connection between those sightings and either tanker incident has been established.
