Mushitags

 Editorial illustration — conceptual, not a photograph of the ships or attacks. Romania resumed its search Friday for seven sailors missing after the chemical tanker Wine Trader was hit by a drone near the Black Sea coast, [Reuters reported](https://www.internazionale.it/ultime-notizie-reuters/2026/10/16/romania-resumes-search-for-seven-missing-sailors-from-drone-hit-ship). Five of the ship’s 12 crew members were rescued. Strong winds and rough seas had hampered the earlier search; Romanian officials said a helicopter would put four rescuers aboard while a vessel continued searching nearby waters. The incident is part of a wider run of strikes on commercial shipping near Romania and Bulgaria. An [Associated Press overview](https://apnews.com/article/866f21a940311b13abd9425457edf388) published Friday counted at least seven vessels hit this month, with two people dead and at least 25 sailors still missing across the incidents. Those are cumulative figures, not a toll from the Wine Trader alone. Reuters separately reported that at least five other ships had been hit in the past 10 days, with 23 sailors reported dead or missing; that snapshot uses a different timeframe and tally. The Comoros-flagged tanker Yara J was struck inside Romanian waters late Wednesday; its crew were unharmed and the vessel was towed to Constanța. Romanian President Nicușor Dan said drones hit the two tankers but did not identify their origin. An unnamed NATO military source told Reuters the drones came from Russia; no public forensic finding has established responsibility. Bulgaria has asked NATO to deploy combat aircraft and anti-drone systems to strengthen its maritime defenses, Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said Friday. Dan said Romania had also requested additional equipment. The requests do not mean NATO has announced a new deployment. The attacks are raising risks along Black Sea shipping routes near the Sulina Canal, a key corridor for Ukrainian exports. The search and national investigations are continuing. ~worldnews ~romania ~bulgaria ~ukraine ~blacksea