The Dominican Republic-flagged merchant vessel Progress IV caught fire and sank on Thursday evening roughly 20 nautical miles southeast of Sfantu Gheorghe, Romania, inside the country’s exclusive economic zone. Romanian President Nicusor Dan told reporters at a press conference in Chisinau, Moldova, that “the ship was hit… it seems to have sunk,” though he cautioned that no information was yet available on who might have been responsible for a possible strike. The Romanian Border Police confirmed the fire aboard the commercial vessel but did not provide an official cause, saying an investigation has been opened.
All 12 crew members aboard the vessel were rescued, according to a statement from the Romanian Border Police, which said ten were pulled from the water by border guards, with one sustaining injuries, while two others were rescued by the crew of a nearby merchant ship. The rescue operation was coordinated by the Romanian Coast Guard after the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Constanta received the initial distress report. Black Sea shipping and port infrastructure have been targeted repeatedly since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, with the frequency of such attacks escalating through 2026, raising fresh concerns over the safety of commercial traffic transiting the contested waters near Romania’s coast.
Source: Reuters (via gCaptain) — https://gcaptain.com/romania-probes-cause-of-black-sea-cargo-ship-sinking/
Tags: Black Sea, Romania, Maritime Security, Ukraine War
