Vessel struck by drone sinks near Romania, there are killed and missing

A commercial vessel apparently struck by a drone has sunk in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania on the morning of 23 October.

As reported by Romanian TV news channel Digi 24, at around 10:00, the coordination centre of the Romanian Naval Authority received a distress signal regarding the vessel Khoryv, which found itself in distress outside Romania's territorial waters, 13 nautical miles (about 24 km) off Constanța.

"There were 13 crew members on board the vessel: 10 citizens of Ukraine and three citizens of Azerbaijan," Romanian Naval Authority stated.

The authority noted that following the distress call, vessels from the Romanian Agency for Saving Human Life at Sea (ARSVOM) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Romania set off to assist the mariners.

"Due to adverse weather conditions and low visibility, it is impossible to involve a helicopter in the rescue operation. At this point, rescue vessels have managed to pull nine living people and one body from the water," the authority added.

Rescue workers continue to search for the remaining three crew members. Early reports indicate that the vessel sank as a result of a drone attack.

According to currently available information it was a Comoros-flagged merchant vessel.

Due to Russian attacks on civilian merchant ships, the European Parliament asked the EU to consider launching a naval operation in the Black Sea.

NATO stated that the Alliance would step up surveillance in the Black Sea amid recent attacks on vessels.

Meanwhile, Romania proposes that NATO Black Sea states establish a joint military command and lead it on a rotational basis.