Overview
- The freighter Royad Mammadov caught fire and sank in Romania’s exclusive economic zone after sending a last position at 10:51 and distress calls shortly before 11:00 on Monday.
- Romanian rescue vessels recovered 11 crew members from the water, two seafarers were found dead and the ship’s captain was reported injured.
- Romanian authorities placed the incident about 30 nautical miles off the coast near the Pescăruș oil platform, which makes Romania responsible for the initial search and rescue response.
- Romanian media and some officials have reported a drone strike as the cause but authorities have not confirmed that attribution and investigations are ongoing; Ukraine’s president described the episode as an attack.
- The sinking deepens worries about recent drone and other attacks on civilian freighters in the Black Sea and raises practical questions about insurance, routing and investigation when vessels sail under flags of convenience.