The new series of incidents involving merchant ships in the Black Sea has caused a strong response in the countries of the region. The most serious case is the sinking of the cargo ship Royad Mammadov in the Romanian exclusive economic zone on October 5. Two crew members died and 11 were rescued.
Against this backdrop, Russia said its forces had struck two Ukrainian cargo ships, which Moscow said were carrying military equipment and supplies for the Ukrainian army.
However, the Royad Mammadov case remains separate from the targets officially announced by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Romania: Fire, sinking and casualties confirmed
Romanian authorities were the first to respond to the Royad Mammadov incident.
The Interior Ministry said that at around 11:00 local time, a fire alarm was received on board a merchant ship in Romania's exclusive economic zone, about 30 nautical miles south of Sfantu Gheorghe.
A large-scale rescue operation followed, involving the coast guard, rescue ships and a helicopter. 11 crew members were rescued, and the bodies of two dead were recovered.
The first official statement from Bucharest did not specify the cause of the fire or blame a specific country.
Romanian media began reporting that the ship had been hit by a drone, and this version gradually became the main one in the news flow. Radio România, for example, reported that the ship had been hit by several drones, while the official information from the authorities focused on the fire and the rescue operation.
The Romanian Ministry of Defense, meanwhile, reported a separate air alert on the night of October 6. Radars detected two air targets in Ukrainian airspace near the Romanian border. Two Spanish F-18s were scrambled, and an RO-Alert was sent to the northern and eastern parts of Tulcea County. No incursion into Romanian airspace was recorded.
Ukraine: “Two Russian drones downed“
Kiev took a much more emphatic position.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that two Russian drones attacked a civilian ship carrying corn owned by a Turkish company. He said there were Azerbaijani and Indian citizens on board.
Zelensky described the incident as a “terrifying strike“ and said that Russia was once again choosing “terror and the sinking of civilian ships“ instead of normal shipping. He called for stronger international pressure and measures to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Szybiga also reacted sharply. He described the attack on a Turkish-linked ship as “particularly cynical“, given Ankara's diplomatic efforts for de-escalation and security in the Black Sea.
Szybiga warned that freedom of navigation cannot depend on “whether Moscow decides to respect it” and called for stronger protection of civilian sea routes and accountability for attacks on ships and crews.
This is the official position of the Ukrainian government, not just a comment by Ukrainian media.
Turkey: Ankara confirmed the connection with the ship, but made an important clarification
The Turkish reaction is more cautious.
The Turkish Ambassador to Bucharest Yozgur Kivanc Altan stated that the ship was not sailing under a Turkish flag and there were no Turkish citizens among the crew.
However, according to him, the ship was owned by a Turkish company.
“This is a sad and worrying incident“, the diplomat said, stressing that Turkey supports the security, stability and safety of shipping in the Black Sea sea.
The Embassy in Bucharest and the Turkish Consulate in Constanta have maintained constant contact with the Romanian border authorities.
In some of the initial publications, the ship was described simply as „Turkish ship“. In reality, the Royad Mammadov sailed under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and a Turkish company owned it.
At the moment, there is no separate official statement from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or the Turkish Foreign Ministry specifically dedicated to Royad Mammadov. The Turkish side's reaction was presented by the ambassador in Bucharest.
Ankara reacted diplomatically, but so far has not made a direct public accusation against Russia.
And what does Russia say?
Moscow has its own version of what is happening in the Black Sea.
On October 5, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russian forces had hit two Ukrainian cargo ships, which it said were carrying military equipment and supplies for the Ukrainian armed forces.
According to the Russian defense ministry, one ship was a dry cargo ship carrying military equipment, while the other was carrying military supplies and was hit south of Odessa. Russia also reported a strike on fuel depots in the port of Chernomorsk.
These Russian claims have not been independently confirmed, and Russian authorities have not said that Royad Mammadov was among the ships they hit.
Russia's „Interfax“ initially reported the incident with the Royad Mammadov, citing Romanian media and official information about the fire, the two dead and the 11 rescued. The publication does not contain any Russian claim that it was Russian forces that attacked the ship.
How do the media in the four countries write?
In Romania: security concern in the Black SeaThe Romanian media mainly focus on the proximity of the incident to the Romanian coast and energy infrastructure.
The ship was in the country's exclusive economic zone, close to OMV Petrom's offshore infrastructure. According to Romanian media, this turns the case not only into an international military incident, but also into a matter of national security.
Calls for more serious measures to protect maritime infrastructure have also appeared in the Romanian public space.
Former Minister of Energy and MEP Virgil Popescu defined the case as a “new warning“ that should not be ignored, and called for the protection of strategic infrastructure around Neptun Deep.
The AUR party also asked the government for a plan for the security of the Black Sea and insisted that the cause of the incident be established through an investigation, explicitly warning that the version of a drone attack should not be presented as a proven fact before official confirmation.
In Ukraine: “Russia expands the geography of attacks“Ukrainian media presents the case as another attack on civilian shipping and emphasizes the fact that the ship was carrying Ukrainian grain.
The tone is significantly more categorical than that in Romania: Kiev directly points to Russia as the perpetrator.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also places the case in a broader context — According to him, Russia is gradually expanding the geography of attacks on ships connected to the Ukrainian sea corridor.
In Turkey: focus on shipping safetyTurkish media are emphasizing the fact that this is a ship with a Turkish owner and a new incident affecting the Turkish maritime business.
The Turkish publication Hürriyet Daily News quotes the ambassador in Bucharest, who confirms the participation of a Turkish company in the ownership of the ship and describes the case as “sad and worrying”. The media places the incident in the context of Ankara's efforts to ensure the safety of commercial shipping in the Black Sea.
Black Sea is becoming increasingly dangerous for civilian shipping
The Royad Mammadov case comes against the backdrop of increasingly serious risks for commercial shipping in the Black Sea.
Regardless of the final determination of the cause, the very fact that a commercial ship was hit or became the victim of an accident near the Romanian coast shows how close to the territory of a NATO country the risks associated with war.
So far, the most categorical accusation comes from Kiev. Bucharest confirms the incident, but leaves the question of the cause open. Ankara calls for shipping safety, and Moscow speaks of its own strikes against Ukrainian ships, but does not officially link these strikes to the sinking of the Royad Mammadov.
The investigation and subsequent official assessments will show whether the version of a Russian attack on the civilian ship will be confirmed by other independent sources.