Two Commercial Ships Hit by Drones Near Sulina, Digi24 reports

Two commercial vessels sustained drone strikes near the Sulina arms of the Danube on Saturday night, sparking fires that crews subsequently extinguished without reported casualties, according to Ministry of National Defence data reported by Digi24.

The sequence unfolded in Romanian territorial waters and nearby maritime zones, where Digi24 detailed that the Greek-flagged oil tanker Evia Petrol V was hit at approximately 21:10 around four marine miles east-southeast of Sulina. Shortly after, at roughly 21:45, the bulk carrier Marsol suffered a similar drone impact about five marine miles southeast of the Sulina Canal, with both vessels managing to suppress the resulting board fires independently.

• Two separate commercial vessels were struck by aerial drones near the Danube mouths within a span of less than an hour on Saturday night, according to Digi24.
• Concurrently, Europa FM said that the Palau-flagged cargo ship MV Larissa 1 was struck less than seven marine miles from Sfântu Gheorghe, destroying a cargo crane but leaving the crew uninjured.
• Radu Oprea said that Romanian pilots have successfully intercepted and downed six drones to date, positioning them among the most effective in NATO.

The maritime incidents triggered broader regional air alerts as radar systems continued tracking potential incursions late into the night. Digi24 reported that the Tulcea Inspectorate for Emergency Situations broadcast a fresh RO-Alert message at 23:19 following a new radar contact detected southeast of Sulina, with the aerial alert finally expiring at 00:27.

Parallel reporting from Europa FM established that another vessel, the cargo ship MV Larissa 1 under the Palau pavilion, was hit by an aerial drone at roughly 21:40 at less than seven marine miles from Sfântu Gheorghe while heading toward the Sulina roadstead en route to Ukraine.

Europa FM added that the impact destroyed a shipboard cargo crane without sparking a fire, prompting the Central Maritime Coordination Center to rapidly establish contact with the vessel.

Addressing the security situation from Constanța Military Port, Radu Oprea confirmed that authorities are actively investigating the maritime strikes while coordinating interinstitutional defenses.

Photo: : Europa FM

“Suntem informați tot timpul. Nu sunt răniți sau pierderi de vieți omenești,” said Radu Oprea, Minister of Defence, telling Ziarul Bursa that the military maintains constant oversight of maritime and aerial targets.

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“Nu cred că ne dorim să avem astfel de reușite, dar, în același timp, este bine că îi vedem că sunt pregătiți și că pot face față oricărei misiuni,” Oprea told TVR Info, highlighting that Romanian pilots have neutralized six hostile drones to date.

Vessel Name	Flag	Location	Damage Reported
Evia Petrol V	Greek	4 marine miles ESE of Sulina	Board fire extinguished; no casualties
Marsol	Unspecified	5 marine miles SE of Sulina Canal	Board fire extinguished; no casualties
MV Larissa 1	Palau	Under 7 marine miles from Sfântu Gheorghe	Cargo crane destroyed; no fire or injuries

HotNews.ro documented that similar commercial vessel incidents occurred on October 28 in Bulgarian territorial waters, coinciding with a joint defense ministerial meeting between Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Just days prior, on October 23, another commercial carrier was struck 13 marine miles off Constanța in an attack that resulted in one fatality and three missing crew members, according to HotNews.ro.