Fire breaks out aboard Yara J off Sulina as Romania probes possible drone strike

The fire and rescue response

A fire broke out aboard the Yara J on the evening of 14 October 2026, while the ship was about 10 nautical miles (roughly 19 kilometres) off Sulina, near the Danube Delta. The Maritime Coordination Centre asked the Romanian Naval Rescue Agency (ARSVOM) for help at 20:25, and its SAR Apollo vessel headed for the area at 20:31. Defence Minister Radu Miruță told Digi24 that the ship's radio operators reported the fire at 20:23, and that the crew later said the blaze was out and that they did not want to come into port. The rescue boat turned back because the fire was out and no people or vessel were in danger. The ship, which flies the Comoros flag under IMO number 9221803, is heading for the port of Constanța, where checks will be made. None of the 17 crew members were injured, and early reports described the crew as Syrian, Indian and Iranian nationals.

1. Oct 14, 08:23 PMShip's radio communications report a fire aboard
2. Oct 14, 08:25 PMMaritime Coordination Centre asks ARSVOM for a rescue mission
3. Oct 14, 08:31 PMRescue vessel SAR Apollo heads toward the ship

Conflicting accounts of a drone strike

Adrian Mihălcioiu, who leads the Free Union of Navigators, said the ship had been the target of attacks in the Sulina roadstead.

The Yara J was the target of attacks in the Sulina roadstead. It happened a few minutes ago.

Miruță gave a different picture. He said two drones entered Romanian airspace for about seven minutes that evening, that fighter jets were scrambled, and that the drones left national airspace before they could be reached. He added that the ministry had also shot down drones over the Black Sea itself. Neither Defence Ministry radars nor Coast Guard radars showed a drone heading toward the vessel, and he said it was not certain that either drone had hit it. Crew members quoted in the first reports said they heard the sound of a drone engine, followed by an explosion and then the fire. The same early reports said the ship was bound for Ukraine with petroleum products, but Miruță said it was empty, and retired rear admiral Sorin Learschi told Digi24 it had stood off Sulina for 19 days.

Diplomacy and NATO

Miruță argued that Romania needs a diplomatic response, since foreign drones should not enter its airspace or territorial waters, whether or not they attack. On 14 October, in Berlin, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova-Chamova said Bulgaria would work with Romania and Turkey toward a 'moratorium' on attacks against commercial ships in the Black Sea. She added:

The protection of civilian crews and freedom of navigation must be a priority for the whole of Europe.

Miruță, who had spoken by phone with Bulgaria's defence minister after the incidents, proposed in a Facebook post that the two countries sign a joint letter to NATO leadership backing a joint command for the Black Sea's littoral NATO states, with its location and leadership rotating among them.

The Black Sea needs a joint military command of the NATO littoral states, and for that we must take steps.

Romania's Foreign Ministry said it had been in constant contact with the competent national institutions since the first alert. On a possible invocation of Article 4 of the NATO treaty, it said it was prepared to inform international partners and to react publicly once the investigating authorities confirm the circumstances of the incident.

Open questions

Checks in Constanța are meant to establish whether a drone struck the vessel, and Miruță said technical expertise should make that clear. The Border Police, which oversees the Coast Guard, confirmed the fire, which the crew put out without outside help. Romanian authorities have not yet confirmed the circumstances, so the drone account still rests on preliminary information. Miruță said the Black Sea is twice the size of Romania, and that expecting every flying object there to be detected and intercepted is unrealistic.