SEVEN SAILORS MISSING AFTER TWO TANKERS CATCH FIRE OFF ROMANIA

Seven sailors are missing after two tankers caught fire overnight in Romanian territorial waters in the Black Sea, Romanian officials said. The San Marino-flagged Wine Trader sent an emergency alert to Romania's naval authority; seven of its 12 crew remain unaccounted for, while five were rescued. The Comoros-flagged chemical and oil tanker Yara J also caught fire, though all of its crew are safe. The fires broke out after Russian drones strayed into Romanian airspace, though officials did not explicitly link the drones to the blazes. Romania's interior ministry said it had sent two Black Hawk helicopters and two ships with medical staff to the search and rescue operation, adding that "the rescue cannot be done safely because of very big waves."

Both vessels were anchored near the mouth of the Danube's Sulina Canal, a route ships use to enter the Black Sea and where they often wait during delays caused by weather or congestion. Romanian Defence Minister Radu Miruta said it remained unclear whether a drone had struck Yara J and that an investigation was under way. Romania shares a 614km border with Ukraine, much of it along the Danube, and has reported repeated breaches of its airspace by Russian drones since the war in Ukraine began. The incidents follow drone strikes on at least five other cargo ships near the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria over the past ten days, in which at least 23 sailors were reported lost, according to one account; those earlier strikes took place just outside NATO territorial waters. On Tuesday, two ships were hit off Bulgaria's coast, with one sinking, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said, adding that Russia's ambassador would be summoned.

Attacks on Black Sea shipping linked to the Russia-Ukraine war have raised concern over a global food crisis, with Romania and Ukraine both major grain exporters. Earlier this month, a grain ship caught fire and sank outside Romania's territorial waters; Ukraine blamed Russian drones, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described it as a strike on a Turkish-owned civilian vessel carrying corn, in which two people were killed and 11 rescued. Some observers see the drone incursions into eastern European airspace as a test of NATO and European Union defences. Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu described the Black Sea as "a global food artery." Investigations into the latest fires continue.