Portugal Colonial - Seven missing after fire on vessel in Black Sea off Romania

The attacks are the latest in a series off the coast of Romania and neighbouring Bulgaria in recent weeks.

After meeting the leaders of both countries in Brussels on Thursday, NATO chief Mark Rutte said the military alliance would "continue to work closely with our allies in the Black Sea, adjusting our deterrence and defence posture as needed".

On Wednesday evening, Romania said it was probing a possible drone attack on Comoros-flagged tanker Yara J.

It said a fire had broken out on board but the ship's crew managed to douse the flames themselves.

Then, at around 7:00 am (0400 GMT) on Thursday, Romanian authorities reported that a fire had broken out on another ship, the Wine Trader, approximately 13 nautical miles southeast of the Romanian city of Sulina.

The VesselFinder tracking website identified the ship, which was flying the San Marino flag, as a chemical tanker.

Speaking at the European Union summit in Brussels, Romanian President Nicusor Dan said both ships had been "hit" by "air drones".

The Romanian Naval Authority said in a statement there were 12 people on board the Wine Trader.

"Five of the sailors... have been rescued. A further seven people are still missing," it said, adding that the ship was not carrying any cargo.

- Growing fallout -

The five crew members were taken to hospital, rescuers said.

One suffered burns to the scalp and another mild smoke inhalation. The remaining three showed no visible signs of injury.

Black Sea shipping has seen growing fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war in recent months.

Eleven crew members were reported missing off Bulgaria on Tuesday after the Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo vessel HS Dignity sank in what authorities in Sofia said was a suspected drone strike.

A Ukrainian-owned cargo ship, the Chelsea 3, was hit by three drones on the same morning, though its crew of 15 were rescued.

"The results of this attack favour Russia. However, we don't have any solid evidence that the drones are Russians," Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said in Brussels on the sidelines of the EU summit on Thursday.

He said the Chelsea 3 would be towed to harbour to be investigated for drone debris to determine the origin of the strike.

"Then we'll have... solid evidence," he said.

An attack on two other ships off Bulgaria on October 6 also resulted in several people going missing.

On Thursday, the Bulgarian parliament approved the purchase of five additional German IRIS-T air defence systems, bringing its total number to six.

The proposal to expand the order was submitted by the government the day after the drone attack of October 6.

- 'Deteriorating security' -

Early last week, a Turkish-owned grain ship sank off Romania's coast after catching fire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alleged the vessel was struck by Russian drones.

One crew member was confirmed dead. The search for a second person has been called off, the Romanian Naval Authority told AFP on Thursday.

Dan said on X on Wednesday the drone attacks in the Black Sea were "direct consequences of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine".

He added that Romania and Bulgaria would push for "stronger counter-drone measures within the EU and NATO" to ensure safe commercial shipping in the Black Sea.

At least 163 civilian and commercial vessels were hit on the Black Sea in the first eight months of this year, according to Turkey's IMEAK chamber of shipping.

Before Thursday's meeting between the leaders of Bulgaria, Romania and NATO, Dan's office said they would discuss "concerns about the deteriorating security situation in the region".

B.Godinho--PC