In a new disruption to Black Sea shipping, drone strikes set two chemical tankers ablaze near Romania's coast, Reuters reported on 15 October.[6] Seven sailors from Wine Trader were missing at the time of the report.[6] Romanian President Nicusor Dan said both Wine Trader and Yara J had been hit by drones.[6]
Wine Trader, sailing under San Marino's flag, had 12 crew members aboard, and Reuters reported that five had been rescued.[6] The vessel was about 13 nautical miles from the Sulina canal when it was hit.[6] Yara J, registered in Comoros, caught fire late on 14 October, and its crew were reported safe.[6][10]
Romania deployed two Black Hawk helicopters and two rescue vessels, while high waves hampered the search, according to Reuters and the BBC.[6][10] The attacks occurred near the Danube route that Ukraine uses for exports after repeated strikes on its Black Sea ports.[6] Reuters reported that at least five other cargo vessels had been hit near Romania and Bulgaria over the preceding ten days.[6]
Sources: [6] https://www.marinelink.com/news/seven-sailors-missing-chemical-tankers-543722 [10] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c60qkgpp592yo