Original Coverage & Source Attribution: maritime-executive.com
On Saturday, Romania launched F-16 fighter jets to shoot down two one-way attack drones over its territorial seas, the country’s defense minister said.
The first drone was intercepted at a position about 13 nautical miles to the southeast of Sulina, a busy port and anchorage at the seaward entrance of the strategic Sulina Canal. The second was shot down about 11 nautical miles to the east of Sulina. Together, the two drones spent a combined seven minutes in Romanian (NATO) airspace before intercept, according to the country’s ministry of foreign affairs.
Defense minister Radu Miruta said that based on their speed, the drones were likely Geran-4 jet-powered drones, an upgraded Russian version of the Iranian Shahed drone design. It was the first time that Romania’s forces had taken down the Geran-4.
Russian forces have been attacking merchant ships along the Bulgarian and Romanian coast in an attempt to discourage civilian traffic to and from Ukraine. The attacks – more than half a dozen in the past fortnight – included a strike inside Romania’s territorial seas, prompting the Romanian government to request assistance from its NATO partners. A meeting of the North Atlantic Council is scheduled for Tuesday to “discuss Black Sea defence and deterrence.”
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The threat is persistent and deadly, with 23 seafarers killed or missing off Bulgaria and Romania in the past two weeks. The most recent strikes included an attack on the product tanker Wine Trader, a specialized vessel for moving wine, which was anchored at the busy roadstead off Sulina on Thursday. The drone hit the tanker in the superstructure, causing a fire that burned through the accommodations block and wheelhouse. Five survivors were rescued despite difficult surface conditions. Seven crewmembers remain missing, and Romanian authorities have carried out a multiday SAR operation, interrupted periodically by periods of rough weather. .
Two tankers were struck by drones in and near Romania’s territorial waters in the Black Sea, Romanian President Nicu?or Dan said. The San Marino-flagged chemical tanker Wine Trader caught fire on October 15, approximately 13 nautical miles southeast of the Sulina Canal. There were 12 crew members on board. Five were rescued, while seven others remain missing. Another tanker, the Comoros-flagged Yara J, was struck on the evening of October 14 inside Romanian territorial waters. A fire broke out on board, but the crew managed to extinguish it. A NATO military source told Reuters that the drones responsible for the fires on both tankers were of Russian origin. Romanian authorities are continuing search and rescue operations. The investigation is ongoing.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) October 15, 2026
