A sailor dies after a Ukraine-bound tanker catches fire off Romania as officials probe war link

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A sailor injured when a Ukraine-bound tanker ship caught fire off Romania’s Black Sea coast has died, Romanian media reported on Thursday, as authorities investigate a possible link to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The ship, a Liberian-flagged vessel named Gas Lisbon, was sailing across the Black Sea toward a Ukrainian port when it was “struck” late Monday around 20 nautical miles off Romania’s coast, Romanian President Nicusor Dan said on Tuesday.

Romanian authorities approached the vessel and evacuated the entire 17-member crew, including three injured sailors. Two of those injured had burns on approximately 10-15% of their bodies while the third suffered multiple wounds, according to Romania’s Department for Emergency Situations.

On Thursday, Romanian news outlet news.ro reported that one of the injured sailors, a 45-year-old Philippine national, had died.

The outlet quoted the director of the Tulcea County Hospital, Tudor-Ion Nastasescu, as saying the sailor “had a burn of the airways and a pulmonary complication related to this burn that caused his death.”

Nastasescu added that the other two injured sailors, both Philippine nationals, are currently being treated in the hospital’s intensive care unit and are in stable condition.

The vessel had departed the Egyptian port of Alexandria and was headed to the Ukrainian port of Reni on the Danube River. It was carrying over 3,790 tons of liquefied petroleum gas.

Romania’s Department for Emergency Situations said the “incident” aboard the ship caused major damage and a fire in the vessel’s superstructure, but no official explanation has been given for the cause. Dan said authorities would “clarify the circumstances, causes, and responsibilities” related to the incident.

Romanian television network Digi24 broadcast interviews with two crew members on Tuesday who said they believed the ship had been struck by multiple drones.

A series of drone incursions from both Russia and Ukraine have hit Romania and other NATO members since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In June, a Ukrainian maritime drone that was being used in the war exploded at the Black Sea port of Constanta, while three other sea drones exploded outside the port. No one was hurt.

A month earlier, a Russian drone that was part of an attack on Ukraine went astray and struck an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people.

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