Tanker Yara J catches fire in Romanian waters near Sulina canal; cause unclear

Left · 2The Comoros-flagged chemical and oil tanker Yara J caught fire late on Wednesday 14 October 2026 while anchored in Romanian territorial waters, and its crew evacuated, Romanian authorities said. 1 2 Left · 1According to The Hindu, the ship was anchored about 8 to 10 nautical miles (14.8 to 18.52 km) southeast of the Sulina canal, and the naval authority said the crew was safe. 1 Mixed · 2Defence Minister Radu Miruta said it was unclear whether a drone had hit the ship and that an investigation was pending; he added that radar systems did not show a drone headed for the ship, and told Digi24 that incidents in Romanian territorial waters are "a matter of significant gravity". 1 3

Centre · 1AFP, carried by Gulf News, quoted Miruta as saying the crew managed to douse the fire themselves, which differs from The Hindu's and Al Jazeera's reports that the crew evacuated; AFP also said the vessel had been docked off Sulina for "several days" and was empty. 3 Centre · 1AFP added that Romania's defence ministry said it scrambled two F-18 jets after "detecting a group of air targets off the Black Sea", and that suspected Russian drones have hit several ships off Romania and Bulgaria since last week. 3 Left · 2Multiple drones breached Romanian airspace near the Ukrainian border on the same day. 1 2

Left · 1The Hindu counts five commercial ships hit off Romania and Bulgaria since early October, with about 23 sailors dead or missing. 1 Left · 1Al Jazeera reports that on Tuesday two ships were hit in drone attacks off Bulgaria's coast and one sank, according to Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who said there was no clear evidence of who was responsible but that "the outcome benefits" Russia, and that the Russian ambassador would be summoned. 2 Left · 1Earlier in October a grain ship caught fire and sank outside Romania's territorial waters, killing two people and with 11 rescued; Ukraine blamed Russian drones, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel. 2

Left · 1On 6 October two ships were hit in a drone attack in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone; one sank with its crew missing and the other was damaged, and Bulgarian authorities ended the search after finding no survivors. 2 Left · 1Romanian President Nicusor Dan said such drone attacks are consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine and that Romania and Bulgaria would push for stronger counter-drone measures within the EU and NATO. 1 Left · 1The Sulina canal on the Danube is a key route for Ukrainian grain exports, where bad weather and staffing shortages have created a backlog of dozens of ships; Russian bombing of Ukraine's Black Sea ports has pushed Kyiv to rely more on Danube ports and routes near Romania and Bulgaria. 1