Two dead, 11 rescued after fire on board ship in Black Sea, Romania says

BUCHAREST – The Romanian authorities said on Oct 5 that two people had died and others had been rescued after a fire on a ship in the Black Sea outside Romania’s territorial waters.

Romania’s interior ministry said 11 crew members of the ship, which it described as sinking, had been rescued.

The country’s naval authority said the incident involved a fire on the ship Royad Mammadov.

The authorities did not give details on the cause of the fire, and a spokeswoman for the Romanian Naval Authority said she could not provide more information.

Romanian media reported the ship was Turkish and carrying grain. The incident occurred near an oil platform operated by Romanian energy company OMV Petrom, media said.

The ship, flying under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, was headed to Ravenna, Italy and was last in port at Izmail, Ukraine, according to website VesselFinder.com.

NATO member Romania shares a 614km land border with Ukraine.

Since the Ukraine-Russia war started four years ago, it has seen Russian drones breaching its airspace as well as mines floating in the Black Sea across key trade and energy routes. REUTERS