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A Liberian-flagged gas tanker sailing from Egypt to Ukraine was struck some 20 nautical miles off Romania's coast overnight, wounding three crew members and igniting a major fire, Romanian President Nicusor Dan said Tuesday in the latest in a wave of attacks on civilian shipping that is spreading the Russia-Ukraine war across the Black Sea.
The strike on the Gas Lisbon comes as Manila reports two Filipino seafarers killed in separate Black Sea drone attacks, India protests the deaths of four of its nationals on a ship leaving Odesa, and Türkiye warns that "the targeting of ports, tankers and fishing boats" cannot be justified.
"Last night, the LPG tanker Gas Lisbon, flying the Liberian flag, was struck outside Romanian territorial waters, approximately 20 nautical miles (40 kilometers) off the Romanian coast," Dan wrote on X, saying the vessel was traveling from the port of Alexandria, Egypt, to the Ukrainian port of Reni.
Two vessels of the Romanian Agency for Saving Life at Sea evacuated the entire 17-member crew, including three injured, and brought them safely ashore, Dan said.
A tugboat was dispatched to ensure the ship did not drift and endanger navigation.
"State institutions are on alert and will clarify the circumstances, causes and responsibilities related to this serious incident, most likely part of the illegal war of aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine," Dan said.
The tanker was carrying over 3,790 tonnes of propane, and the strike caused a major fire on board, according to Romanian emergency services.
"Two victims had burns covering approximately 10-15% of their bodies, and the third had suffered multiple wounds and was bleeding," the emergency services said.
Russian and Ukrainian drones have repeatedly breached the airspace and territorial waters of Romania, an EU and NATO member bordering Ukraine, this year. Russia has either denied responsibility for reported attacks on Romania, said they were carried out by Ukraine, or blamed Ukrainian "provocation."
At least two Filipino seafarers were killed, and one remained missing after their ships were hit by drones in the northern Black Sea in separate incidents on July 6 and July 19, the Philippines Department of Migrant Workers said Monday.
Twelve others were injured, the Inquirer daily reported.
Nine ships carrying 139 Filipino seafarers were "damaged after they were attacked while transiting the northern part of the Black Sea," Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac told a news briefing, adding the remaining 124 seafarers are "safe and unharmed."
India, meanwhile, summoned Russia's top envoy in New Delhi on Tuesday to protest a weekend attack on a cargo ship leaving Ukraine's port of Odesa that killed four Indian nationals.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) said Sunday two oil tankers, the Liberia-flagged Asia and the Marshall Islands-flagged Nissos Ios, were attacked by drones near its Black Sea terminal, condemning what it called the fifth "act of direct aggression" against a civilian facility protected under international law.
Ukraine's General Staff earlier said its forces struck two tankers in the Black Sea that it said were transporting Russian oil, petroleum products and fuel.
Civilian ships have been targeted by both Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea, and Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces reported striking seven naval vessels in its July 20 daily operations report, which claimed 1,930 unique hits on "enemy targets" in 24 hours.
The escalation at sea has drawn sharp warnings from Ankara. Speaking alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Kyiv on July 16, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the risk of the conflict spreading, which Türkiye has warned about since the war began, remains a serious threat.
"We do not want the war to be carried into the Black Sea," Fidan said, adding, "The targeting of ports, tankers, and fishing boats in the Black Sea and putting civilians' lives at risk cannot be justified."
"Freedom of navigation and commercial security in the Black Sea are of vital importance. I discussed this with the Russian side during my visit to Moscow and also with my esteemed counterpart here," Fidan said, recalling a U.N. proposal for the parties to commit to guarantees on energy security and freedom of navigation to safeguard global grain security even as the war continues elsewhere.
Fidan stressed that Türkiye's primary objective is ending the war, adding, "If that is not possible, then in several critical areas important for Ukraine, Russia and all countries, a war moratorium could be declared, and those targets could be spared."
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