Two people died following a fire on a ship in the Black Sea outside Romania's territorial waters, and several other crew members were rescued. Romanian officials announced this news and released further details about the incident. The ship in question, known as Roid Mamedov, was operating in an area near oil platforms.
Details of the Incident and Reactions
The Romanian Ministry of Interior announced that 11 crew members of the ship, which ultimately sank, were rescued. While Romanian officials did not comment on the cause of the fire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the fire was caused by an attack from Russian drones. Zelensky confirmed that one of the victims was a person, and the condition of another is still unclear.
Zelensky wrote in a post on social media platform X: "A horrific attack by two Russian drones on a civilian ship in neutral waters carrying corn and belonging to Turkey has occurred. Azerbaijani and Indian citizens were also on this ship." He also stated that unfortunately, the ship's captain lost his life, and the condition of one other crew member is still uncertain.
Consequences and International Implications
Russian officials have not yet commented on the incident. In a daily report, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the country had attacked two cargo ships. Romanian media also reported that the incident occurred near an oil platform belonging to the Romanian energy company OMV Petrom.
The aforementioned ship, sailing under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, was heading towards Ravenna in Italy and had last anchored at the port of Izmail, Ukraine. Romania, as a NATO member, has a 614-kilometer border with Ukraine and has witnessed violations of its airspace by Russian drones as well as issues arising from naval mines in the Black Sea since the onset of the Ukraine-Russia war four years ago.
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