Two dead after suspected drone strike on cargo ship Royad Mammadov in Black Sea

Two people died and 11 crew members were rescued after a fire broke out aboard the cargo ship Royad Mammadov in the Black Sea on Monday, Romanian authorities said (https://www.reuters.com/world/two-dead-11-rescued-serious-maritime-incident-black-sea-romania-says-2026-10-05/). Romania’s interior ministry said 11 crew were rescued, and the country’s Naval Authority identified the vessel as the Royad Mammadov, with rescue operations under way for a ship at risk of sinking outside Romania’s territorial waters.

The Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged grain carrier, about 140 metres long, had left the Ukrainian port of Izmail bound for Ravenna, Italy, when the blast occurred (https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/40583096/drone-hits-ship-nato-blaze-crew-missing/). Romanian maritime authorities received the first distress report at 10:37am local time; the ship was about 20 miles off Romania’s coast, nine miles from the Pescărus Platform offshore oil and gas rig (https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/40583096/drone-hits-ship-nato-blaze-crew-missing/).

Thirteen crew reported missing were located; two were found dead and the remaining 11, including the captain, were injured and taken to hospital by helicopter (https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/40583096/drone-hits-ship-nato-blaze-crew-missing/).

A drone strike is suspected but not confirmed: sources told Romania’s PRO TV News the vessel was hit by “two or three drones”, while authorities said it had not been confirmed that a projectile caused the explosion (https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/40583096/drone-hits-ship-nato-blaze-crew-missing/).

NEW vs own 2026-10-05-1120-russia-black-sea-cargo-vessels (Russia’s Monday defence-ministry claims of strikes on two Ukrainian vessels and Chornomorsk fuel storage): a separate incident with confirmed casualties in waters off NATO member Romania.