Drone sinks cargo ship off Constanta, killing one, as Romania blames Moscow

A drone strike sank the Comoros-flagged cargo ship Khoryv in the Black Sea on Friday, about 13 nautical miles (24 kilometers) off the Romanian port of Constanta and just beyond Romania's territorial waters, Al Jazeera reported. One sailor was killed and three remain missing. Romanian and European officials blamed Russia for the attack, while Russian officials did not immediately comment.

The vessel had 13 crew members on board, among them Ukrainian and Azerbaijani nationals. Nine were rescued and one body was recovered after the ship sent a distress signal at around 10 a.m. local time (0700 GMT). The Khoryv was heading for Sulina, the Romanian port at the mouth of the Danube that has become a key outlet for Ukrainian exports since Russia attacked Ukraine's own Black Sea ports.

Bucharest and Brussels respond

Romanian President Nicusor Dan called the sinking "a new example of the tragic consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine" and said: "It is time for Russia to take peace initiatives of the United States and Europe seriously." Prime Minister Luca Niculescu said the strike was "unacceptable and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the attacks as "reckless" and said they "target innocent lives and openly defy international law." Moldova's Foreign Ministry said "Russia's continued escalation in the Black Sea endangers civilian lives, threatens freedom of navigation." Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna wrote on X that "Russia's repeated attacks on commercial shipping violate international law" and that "Estonia stands in full solidarity with Romania," Report.az reported.

A run of strikes near NATO's coastline

The sinking is the latest in a surge of drone strikes on merchant shipping off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria, both NATO members. At least seven cargo ships have been hit over the past two weeks, and 30 sailors have been killed or gone missing in that period, according to Al Jazeera. Romanian warplanes shot down two latest-generation Russian drones over Romanian territorial waters the previous Saturday, the broadcaster reported.

NATO plans to send patrol aircraft, radar and drones to the Black Sea, while Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria have pressed for surveillance to be stepped up faster. The Khoryv went down outside Romania's 12-mile territorial sea, a distinction that matters legally: an attack inside a member's waters would put far heavier pressure on the alliance to treat it as a direct challenge.

Shipping lanes under strain

The Danube route through Sulina became one of Ukraine's main alternatives after attacks on its Black Sea ports, and repeated strikes along the approaches raise the cost and risk for ship owners who serve it. For Azerbaijan, whose citizens were among the crew, the incident brings the war's maritime front closer to its own people, even though Baku is not a party to the conflict.

What it means: A ship sunk within sight of NATO's coastline, with a sailor dead, moves the Black Sea campaign from harassment toward a test of the alliance's eastern flank. Because the ship went down just outside Romanian waters, the attack stays below the threshold that would force a collective response, while still raising insurance and security costs on the Danube corridor that keeps Ukrainian trade moving. The planned NATO patrol aircraft, radar and drones will show whether surveillance can deter strikes or only document them. The risk also reaches Caspian producers: Kazakhstan's record oil exports lean on a single Black Sea pipeline, so any widening of attacks on merchant shipping in the basin touches Eurasian energy flows far beyond Romania and Ukraine.