Eight crew missing after drone attack leaves tanker ablaze off Romania's coast

15 October 2026, 09: 22 BST. Updated 57 minutes ago.

Key points

• Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow at present controls regarding 20% of Ukrainian territory.
• The tanker, which was sailing from Tunisia to Romania, documented a number of explosions on board at regarding 07: 00 local time (05: 00 GMT).
• On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of the Black Sea becoming another front of escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine.
• Last week, another two ships were struck off Bulgaria, and on the same day Ukraine hit an oil tanker in the Russian Black Sea port of Sochi.
• The presidents of Romania and Bulgaria are due to discuss today whether Article 4 of the Nato treaty should be invoked.

Eight of 12 crew members are missing after a tanker caught fire off Romania's coast, naval authorities say, and there are reports of explosions on board.

When it documented blasts and a fire on Thursday morning, the San Marino-flagged Wine Trader was 13 nautical miles (24km) east of the mouth of the River Danube at Sulina.

In practice, the west coast of the Black Sea has lately seen a spate of drone attacks, and reports from nearby ships say the tanker was hit by two drones. Russian drones were detected overnight not far from the scene – near Ukraine's Snake Island.

Russia remarked two cargo ships with military cargo heading to Ukraine's Odesa port were hit during the sea crossing. It did not name the vessels.

On Tuesday, two merchant ships were struck by drones further south along the coast of Bulgaria, Romania's neighbour, and one of the vessels sank leaving 11 crew members missing.

Bulgaria remarked it suspected Russia was behind that attack, summoning the country's envoy.

For context, a search and rescue operation for the eight missing members of the Wine Trader continues, Romania's authorities have remarked. Two Black Hawk helicopters and two rescue boats have been deployed.

For context, the Romanian interior ministry has published a video showing one of the helicopters hovering above the vessel.

While ensuring the safety of rescue teams with particularly high waves noted in the area, the priority is now to reach the four crew members confirmed to be alive.

For context, the tanker, which was sailing from Tunisia to Romania, documented a number of explosions on board at regarding 07: 00 local time (05: 00 GMT).

Meanwhile, the presidents of Romania and Bulgaria are due to discuss today whether Article 4 of the Nato treaty should be invoked.

This allows any member of the military alliance to request consultations with its allies if it believes its territorial integrity or security is threatened.

Ukraine has directly blamed Russia for earlier attacks on civilian vessels in the western side of the Black Sea – a key route for Ukrainian exports and imports.

On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of the Black Sea becoming "another front of escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine. This is unacceptable".

As part of its war against Ukraine, russia's military has lately intensified its strikes on vessels in the area.

Moscow notes it is targeting ships delivering weapons and dual-use cargo to Ukrainian ports.

Kyiv and its European allies say merchant vessels carrying grain and other civilian cargo are being attacked.

Both Russia and Ukraine are major grain-exporting countries and Turkey has called on both countries to halt attacks in the Black Sea.

Moscow has repeatedly rejected calls by the US and Europe for a naval ceasefire in the Black Sea, blaming Ukraine for attacking Russian merchant ships in the area.

In short, eight crew missing after drone attack leaves tanker ablaze off Romania' s coast is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.