On Thursday night, August 27th, the Dominican Republic-flagged merchant vessel Progress IV (IMO: 8358130) was struck and subsequently sank in Romania’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea.
The vessel issued a distress signal at around 17:55 while approximately 15 nautical miles off Sfântu Gheorghe, near the Danube Delta. Romanian maritime authorities immediately deployed the rescue vessels SAR Ares and SAR Artemis, together with a Border Police vessel, while the nearby merchant vessel Mohamad B was also directed to assist.
All 12 crew members were rescued alive. One sailor suffered a fractured arm and received medical treatment. The rescue operation was carried out in difficult conditions, with waves reaching approximately 2.5 metres.
The Progress IV subsequently sank at approximately 22:04 local time. Romanian maritime authorities also issued a navigation warning after containers from the vessel were lost overboard and began drifting southwards.
Romanian President Nicușor Dan confirmed that the vessel was struck.
The incident occurred on the same day that Romanian radar systems detected aerial targets close to the Ukrainian border, prompting two Spanish F-18 fighter jets deployed in Romania to be scrambled. Romanian authorities said that no violation of Romanian national airspace was detected during that episode.
The Progress IV was reportedly sailing to the Turkish port of Tekirdağ when it was hit.
Russia has increasingly used drone incursions into Romania which are becoming more frequent.
Feature photo from Marine Traffic.
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