Turkish Cargo Ship Sunk By Drone Strike Off Romania, Two Sailors Killed

There’s no doubt that the tit-for-tat war on Black Sea shipping is getting nastier. For several months now, both Russian and Ukrainian forces have traded drone and missile attacks on ports and ships, disrupting vital Black Sea trade.

For Ukraine this national transit lifeline is even more important amid its war time economy. A major incident has unfolded Monday after an alleged direct hit by Russian drone on a Turkish cargo ship carrying grain from a Ukrainian port.

Two crew members died, while eleven others were rescued, and with another reported missing. Ukraine quickly blamed Russia for the attack.

Romanian vessels and helicopters conducted the large rescue operation off national waters, some 20 miles from the NATO member’s shore.

The Saint Kitts and Nevis flagged ship – identified as the Royad Mammadov – eventually sunk as a result of the attack after catching fire in the wake of the initial drone impact and blasts.

It had reportedly been headed out of the Ukrainian port of Ismail in the Odesa region navigating towards Ravenna, Italy when it came under assault.

Ukraine’s President Zelensky laid direct blame on Russia. “A horrific strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel in neutral waters carrying corn and owned by Türkiye. Azerbaijani and Indian citizens were on board,” he wrote on X.

“As of now, unfortunately, we know that the ​ship’s captain was killed. My condolences. The fate of one other person is still being ‌established. Eleven ⁠crew members were rescued, one of them injured,” he added.

While Russian authorities did not comment or own up to the specific attack, the Russian Defense Ministry did announce hours earlier that its forces had struck two cargo vessels, according to Reuters.

Surreal footage showing large cargo ship about to go under the water amid high-risk rescue operation:

Another merchant vessel has been sunk in the Black Sea. The Royad Mammadov, carrying grain from Ukraine’s Izmail to Ravenna, Italy, caught fire and sank after being struck by a drone on Oct. 5. Two crew members were killed, 11 rescued. The vessel was Turkish-operated and went down in Romania’s EEZ, about 30 nautical miles south of Sfântu Gheorghe. This is what the Black Sea #grain risk looks like now. What does this mean for regional grain exports and #wheat prices? Our view: https://t.co/m4IIeeRsmT #Ukraine #blacksea #oatt

— Andrey Sizov (@sizov_andre) October 5, 2026

These attacks on Black Sea shipping have been steadily ramping up all summer. With roughly 90% of Ukrainian grain and sunflower shipments departing from the primary port cluster of Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Pivdenne, the fallout on Ukraine’s agricultural sector has been severe.

Moscow seeks to sever military supply routes and disrupt arms shipments bound for Ukraine, but this has also obviously resulted in damaged and sunken tankers, auxiliary vessels, and even deaths of civilian bystanders among international shipping crew. It has accused Ukraine of seeking to hide military shipments under the guise of civilian cargo transit.