Two dead as Turkish-operated cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain sinks off the coast of Romania after drone attack

The vessel entered the Black Sea during the afternoon of Oct. 3, and the ship-tracking service recorded disruptions in its AIS transmissions at around 9:20 local time on the morning of Oct. 5. The attack likely occurred around then.

Although Romanian media reported that the ship had been struck by a drone, officials have not officially identified the cause of the fire. Reuters reported that Romania’s Naval Authority declined to comment on the incident.

The Royad Mammadov sails under the flag of St. Kitts and Nevis, but Turkish companies are responsible for its commercial and technical operations.

Last week, Russia attacked a Liberian-flagged cargo ship at a port in Ukraine’s Odesa Region, killing one person. The two crew members killed aboard the Royad Mammadov bring the total fatalities from similar strikes to seven over the past month.