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Romanian rescuers recovered nine sailors alive and one body from the Black Sea on Friday after the merchant ship Khoryv sent a distress call 13 nautical miles off Constanta, the Romanian Naval Authority said.
Three crew members remain missing, while the ship reported a drone attack in its emergency call.
The Maritime Coordination Center of the Romanian Naval Authority was alerted around 10 a.m. to the Khoryv, which was in difficulty outside Romania’s territorial waters, the authority said in a statement.
The ship had a crew of 13: 10 Ukrainian citizens and three Azerbaijani citizens. The vessel sails under the Comoros flag.
Bulgarian outlet Maritime.bg identified the ship by IMO number 8138712.
The Khoryv sent an emergency call reading "Mayday/Drone attack," according to an alert message on the incident. The message said the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center was informed and three ships were alerted to manage the situation.
Romanian media, citing Digi24, reported that the crew sent an emergency call signaling a fire on board. A Romanian outlet reported the ship was sinking after it was reportedly hit by a drone.
Ships from ARSVOM and Romania’s Interior Ministry set out to recover the sailors immediately after the alarm, the naval authority said.
"Due to adverse weather conditions and low visibility, airborne intervention by helicopter is not possible," the authority said.
A Black Hawk helicopter was requested, but torrential rain in Constanta prevented it from reaching the site. The rescue is coordinated by the Romanian Naval Authority with the Coast Guard and ARSVOM.
"So far, the intervention ships have managed to recover nine people alive and one body from the water," the authority said, adding that rescue teams are continuing the search for the remaining three crew members.
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