Romania resumed its search Friday for seven sailors missing from the San Marino flagged chemical tanker "Wine Trader", which was hit by a drone early Thursday in the Black Sea, Reuters reports. The ship was about a mile outside Romanian territorial waters. Twelve sailors were aboard, five were rescued, and strong winds and rough seas hampered the search.

An interior ministry spokesperson said rescuers returned to search the ship. A Black Hawk helicopter would place four rescuers aboard while another ship searched nearby waters.

A second tanker, the Comoros flagged "Yara J", was hit by a drone inside Romanian waters late Wednesday. Its crew was unharmed and it was towed to the port of Constanta. Both ships were anchored near the Sulina canal, which links the Danube to the Black Sea and is a key export route for Ukraine, Reuters reports.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan said drones struck both ships. A NATO military source told Reuters the drones came from Russia.

Reuters says at least five other cargo ships were hit near Romania and Bulgaria in the past 10 days, with 23 sailors dead or missing. Most of those incidents were outside NATO territorial waters.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/romania-resumes-search-seven-missing-sailors-drone-hit-ship-2026-10-16/