Bulgaria's foreign ministry has expressed solidarity with Romania on X after a fire on the tanker Yara J in the Black Sea. Prime minister Rumen Radev proposed to both countries, and possibly Turkey, a joint initiative to make the Black Sea a sea free of attacks on merchant and civilian ships.
This report follows our earlier story on the fire on Yara J off Sulina. Adrian Mihalcioiu, head of the Free Seafarers' Union, said it was probably caused by a drone strike.
"The repeated incidents affecting merchant shipping in the region are a cause for deep concern," the foreign ministry wrote. It said that while the cause of the fire is being established, close cooperation with Romania is essential for the safe passage of merchant ships. The issue will be among Bulgaria's main priorities in the coming talks at the European Council.
The tanker sails under the flag of the Comoros. It caught fire late yesterday while at anchor in Romanian territorial waters, and its crew was evacuated, the Romanian Naval Authority said.
This morning it emerged that a second ship, the Wide Trader, which flies the flag of San Marino, is also on fire about 13 nautical miles southeast of Sulina. Eight people are missing after the incident. It is also not clear whether a drone hit this ship.
Romanian defence minister Radu Miruta said it is not yet clear whether a drone hit the first ship, which sails under the Comoros flag. Fighter jets were scrambled overnight because of a group of drones near Sulina and Ukraine's Snake Island, which lies close to the Romanian coast.
Radev spoke today on arriving in Brussels for the two-day European Council meeting. He has already spoken to the Romanian prime minister and will talk to the Romanian president today.
"This unacceptable aggression against civilian ships in the Black Sea must stop," Radev said.
He said the initiative would support the efforts of Romania and Bulgaria, and Turkey could join as a NATO member.