Romania: 2 ships on fire in Black Sea, 7 crew missing

BREAKING: Two chemical tankers are ablaze in the Black Sea off Romania with seven crew missing, after Russian drones were sighted in Romanian airspace.

Two chemical tankers are on fire in the Black Sea tonight, and seven sailors are missing.

Both ships were anchored off Romania, near the mouth of the Sulina Canal, when the fires broke out overnight. These pictures show the Wine Trader, the San Marino-flagged tanker that sent the emergency alert. Five of her twelve crew are safe, seven are not accounted for, and search and rescue teams are out there now. The second vessel, the Yara J, caught fire hours earlier, her crew got off safely.

Russian drones were in Romanian airspace before the blazes. Officials won't yet say they caused them, but at least five other cargo ships have been hit off Romania and Bulgaria in the past ten days, with 23 sailors lost. President Nicusor Dan called it unacceptable, and NATO chief Mark Rutte says the alliance is strengthening its eastern flank with counter-drone defences.

These are NATO territorial waters. That is the hardest fact of the night.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.