A Comoros-flagged merchant ship carrying 10 Ukrainian and three Azerbaijani crew members was struck by a drone in the Black Sea near the Romanian port city of Constanta on Friday, 23 October 2026, leaving at least one sailor dead and nine others rescued from the water, according to national media reports. The attack marks a sharp escalation in maritime insecurity in a waterway already on edge from repeated drone incursions over Romanian territory.

What Happened

Romania's Maritime Coordination Centre within the Romanian Naval Authority was alerted to the incident at approximately 10:00 am local time (0700 GMT). Rescue vessels subsequently recovered nine survivors alive from the sea and retrieved one body, according to Romania's national news agency Agerpres. Bulgarian National Television reported that the vessel was hit by a drone, though the origin of the drone has not been officially attributed.

Escalating Tensions Over the Black Sea

The attack comes just days after Romania announced that two of its F-16 fighter jets shot down two unauthorised drones that entered Romanian airspace over the Black Sea last week. Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu confirmed that the first drone entered national airspace at 17:59 local time and was downed within two minutes, approximately 25 km south-east of Sulina. The second was engaged and destroyed at 18:05 in the same area, roughly 20 km east of Sulina.

Romania subsequently called for a dedicated session of the North Atlantic Council, which was convened on 20 October, to address Black Sea defence and deterrence — a signal that Bucharest views the threat environment as structurally worsening, not episodic.

What Romania's Foreign Minister Said

'The Black Sea will be safe again,' Foreign Minister Toiu said in a post on social media platform X. She underscored the strategic stakes: 'The Black Sea serves as a critical maritime artery for the global export of grain, energy resources, and industrial commodities, making its stability vital to international food and energy security. We have briefed our Allies and EU partners.'

Toiu also stated that Romania's military 'has prepared for an increased intensity of hybrid interference and will continue to prioritise air defence and maritime security.' She added that Romania and Bulgaria are coordinating at all levels to accelerate the establishment of an EU Maritime Security Hub in the Black Sea.

Strategic and Humanitarian Stakes

The Black Sea corridor is a vital conduit for Ukrainian grain exports, which were partially restored under international arrangements and remain critical to global food supply chains. A sustained drone campaign targeting commercial shipping could disrupt those flows and raise insurance and freight costs for vessels transiting the region. This is at least the second confirmed drone-related maritime or airspace incident near Romanian waters within a single week, pointing to an intensifying pattern of what Bucharest has described as 'hybrid interference.'

With NATO allies now formally briefed and an EU maritime security hub under discussion, the incident is likely to accelerate both military and diplomatic responses in the weeks ahead.