A Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain sank on October 5 after being hit by what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said were two Russian drones in Romania’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, killing two crew members and raising concerns over the security of civilian shipping and offshore energy infrastructure.

The Royad Mammadov, sailing under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, was carrying grain from Ukraine’s Izmail port to Italy when it caught fire and sank. Romania’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said 11 crew members were rescued and two people lost their lives. Citizens of Azerbaijan and India were among the crew.

Romanian authorities said the incident occurred outside the country’s territorial waters, about 20 nautical miles from the coast and roughly nine nautical miles southeast of OMV Petrom’s Pescăruș offshore platform.

Zelenskiy attributed the incident to two Russian drones and said the attack targeted a civilian vessel carrying grain. Romanian authorities confirmed the fire, sinking and casualties but did not initially publicly attribute the incident to a drone attack or identify its origin.

Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea ports and shipping continue to disrupt the country’s grain exports. Ukraine has been seeking additional routes through Europe for millions of tonnes of grain that remain trapped by the disruption, but Poland and Romania said they could not do more to facilitate exports, Politico reported on October 4.

Romania’s Agriculture Minister Tanczos Barna said the interests of Romanian farmers remained a priority, while Romanian logistics infrastructure and ports were already under pressure from Ukrainian grain flows and low Danube water levels, according to the report. Ukraine has also sought €1.1bn to help cover higher maritime transport costs as attacks continue to affect Black Sea shipping.

The proximity to offshore energy infrastructure also drew attention. The incident occurred on the same morning that President Nicusor Dan received an OMV Petrom delegation at the Cotroceni Palace, days after the company said first gas from the Neptun Deep offshore project was expected in the second half of 2027.

OMV Petrom said the incident did not affect its operations or personnel. “The incident occurred far from the Pescăruș platform [in the Istria shallow water perimeter] and did not affect operations or personnel safety in any way. The platform is operating normally,” the company told HotNews.

The company did not specify the exact distance between the ship and the platform but said it was working with Romanian authorities to secure, monitor and intervene in incidents involving energy infrastructure in the Black Sea.