A Drone Attacked An Oil Tanker In Romanian Waters For The First Time

• 15.10.2026, 10:50

The vessel was presumably headed for Ukraine.

In Romanian territorial waters, a drone attacked the oil tanker YARA J, flying the Comoros flag, which was reportedly headed for Ukraine.

This was reported by Radio România Constanța.

It is reported that the tanker has a crew of 17 sailors from Syria, India, and Iran. The attack took place on the evening of October 14 near the port of Sulina. The tanker had arrived from Turkey and was waiting for favorable weather conditions to pass through the canal. The vessel was empty and was scheduled to take on cargo at ports along the Danube. A fire broke out on board following the attack.

According to the head of the Romanian Seafarers’ Union Adrian Mihălcioiu, all crew members are safe, and the ship’s engines are still running. He stated that this attack appears to have been “deliberate and targeted at the vessel, which was likely heading to Ukraine.”


He emphasized that this is the first time such an incident has occurred in Romanian territorial waters.

Earlier, the Romanian Ministry of Defense reported that a group of aerial targets was detected over the Black Sea on Wednesday evening—two of which entered the country’s airspace. Subsequently, radar contact with one of the targets over the sea was lost.

It is possible that this particular drone struck the vessel.

According to the Bulgarian publication Maritime.bg, the YARA J is currently proceeding under its own power to the port of Constanța.