Ukraine blames Russian drones for deadly ship fire in the Black Sea

By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2026-10-06 17:20:50 | Updated at 2026-10-06 18:21:21 1 hour ago

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Two people died and others were rescued after a fire on a ship in the Black Sea outside Romania’s territorial waters, Romanian authorities said on Monday, ‌as Ukraine blamed Russian drones for the incident.

Romania’s interior ministry said 11 crew members of the ship that sank had been rescued.

The country’s Naval Authority said the incident involved a fire on the ship Royad Mammadov.

The fire-damaged “Royad Mammadov” ship is seen in the Black Sea, outside Romania’s territorial waters. via REUTERS

A vessel is seen during a rescue operation following a fire outside Romania’s territorial waters. via REUTERS

A rescue operation following a fire on a vessel, in which two people died and others were rescued, is seen taking place outside Romania’s territorial waters. via REUTERS

Romania did not comment on the cause of the fire but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said ⁠it had been caused by Russian drones.

He confirmed the death of one person in the incident but said a second person had yet to be accounted for.

“A horrific strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel in neutral waters carrying corn and owned by Türkiye. Azerbaijani and Indian citizens were on board,” Zelensky wrote on social media platform X.

“As of now, unfortunately, we know that the ship’s captain was killed. My condolences. The fate of one other person is still being ‌established. Eleven ⁠crew members were rescued, one of them injured.”

Russian authorities had no immediate comment. An earlier daily bulletin from the Russian Defence Ministry said Russia had struck two cargo vessels.

Romanian media earlier reported that the incident had occurred near an oil platform operated by Romanian energy company OMV Petrom, ⁠which told Romanian website HotNews.ro that the platform was operating normally.

Firefighters and rescuers work near a helicopter at an emergency helicopter base in Constanța, Romania, on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. via REUTERS

The rescue operation followed a maritime incident involving a fire aboard a vessel outside Romania’s territorial waters, in which two people died and others were rescued. via REUTERS

The ship, flying under the flag of St Kitts & Nevis, had been headed to Ravenna, Italy, and had last docked at the Ukrainian port ⁠of Izmail, according to website VesselFinder.com.

NATO member Romania shares a 614-kilometer (382-mile) land border with Ukraine.

Since the Ukraine-Russia war started four years ago, it has seen Russian drones breaching ⁠its airspace as well as mines floating in the Black Sea across key trade and energy routes.

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