Grain Ship Sinks in Black Sea Near Romania After Fire; Zelensky Blames Russian Drone Strike

A grain-carrying merchant ship sank in the Black Sea near Romania on Monday after a fire broke out on board, leaving two people dead and 11 rescued, Romanian authorities said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later blamed a Russian drone strike, but Romanian officials did not confirm the cause in their initial public statements.

Romania’s Interior Ministry said rescue authorities were alerted late Monday morning local time to a fire aboard the vessel, which authorities identified as the Royad Mammadov, a general-cargo ship. Maritime databases list it under the Saint Kitts and Nevis flag. Open-source vessel tracking and reporting indicated the ship had departed Izmail, Ukraine, and was headed to Ravenna, Italy, carrying grain, with some reports specifying corn. The incident took place outside Romania’s territorial waters but within its exclusive economic zone, near the Pescăruș offshore platform.

“Eleven crew members have been rescued. Two deceased individuals have also been located,” Romania’s Interior Ministry said, according to The Associated Press. Multiple reports said the vessel later sank or was in the process of sinking.

In a post on his official Telegram channel, Zelensky alleged that “two Russian drones” struck what he described as a Turkish-owned civilian grain vessel in neutral waters. He said the captain was killed, 11 crew members were rescued and one person was injured. Zelensky also said the crew included citizens of Azerbaijan and India. His account was not independently confirmed by Romanian authorities in their initial statements.

Early official statements from Romanian authorities, as reported by AP and Reuters, described a fire on board and a rescue operation but did not identify a cause or say who was responsible. Several media reports and Romanian local outlets described a suspected drone strike, including reports that two drones were involved, but those details had not been officially confirmed by Romanian authorities. Authorities said the investigation was ongoing.

OMV Petrom, the energy company operating the nearby Pescăruș offshore platform, said the platform was not endangered and that its operations were not affected.

The sinking drew attention because the vessel was traveling on a Ukrainian grain-export route through a sea that has become increasingly dangerous for merchant shipping since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Civilian vessels and grain shipments in the Black Sea have faced repeated disruption and attack, raising risks not only for crews and coastal infrastructure but also for global food supply chains that depend on exports from the region.