Bulgaria Asks NATO for Anti-Drone Defenses as Romania Hunts for Seven Missing Sailors After Tanker Attacks

Romania resumed a search on Friday for seven sailors missing from a chemical tanker struck by a drone near its Black Sea coast, as Bulgaria formally asked NATO to deploy combat aircraft and anti-drone systems after a wave of attacks on commercial shipping.

The missing crew were among 12 sailors aboard the San Marino-flagged tanker Wine Trader, which was hit early Thursday about a mile outside Romanian territorial waters. Five crew members were rescued, and officials said strong winds and rough seas had hampered the search.

A Black Hawk helicopter was to place four rescuers aboard the vessel while a ship continued searching nearby waters. “Our colleagues returned today to search the ship and continue the mission to identify the rest of the crew,” an interior ministry spokesperson told Reuters.

The Wine Trader was one of two tankers struck by drones within about 12 hours near Romania’s coast. The second vessel, the Comoros-flagged chemical and oil tanker Yara J, was hit inside Romanian waters late Wednesday; its crew were unharmed, and the ship was towed to the port of Constanta.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan said the two ships had been struck by drones. A NATO military source told Reuters the drones came from Russia. Both vessels were anchored near the Sulina canal, which links the Danube River to the Black Sea and is a transit route for Ukraine.

The attacks are part of a wider pattern. At least five other cargo ships have been hit near the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria in the past 10 days, with 23 sailors reported dead or missing, Reuters reported. Most of those incidents occurred outside NATO territorial waters.

Bulgaria turns to NATO

Bulgaria’s defense minister, Dimitar Stoyanov, said Friday that Sofia had formally asked NATO to strengthen defenses on its territory, writing to the NATO secretary general and the supreme allied commander to request combat aircraft and anti-drone systems. The request followed a week in which drones hit two ships that caught fire off Romania’s Black Sea coast, and a commercial vessel sank off Bulgaria’s coast on Tuesday after a drone attack, an incident that prompted Sofia to summon Russia’s ambassador.

Bulgaria, which has proposed a halt to attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea, also expects to join a NATO anti-drone initiative by the end of October. Stoyanov said he planned to meet his Romanian and Turkish counterparts to coordinate a common approach.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters.