A vessel travelling from the US to Ukraine has been damaged off the coast of Romania
On the night of 24 July, the commercial vessel Christiana B, which was en route from Norfolk in the United States to Ukraine, sustained damage in Romania’s exclusive economic zone.
According to the Romanian Department of Emergency Situations, the vessel reported the damage whilst it was approximately 22 nautical miles south-east of Sfântu Gheorghe. A distress signal was received during the night by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of the Romanian Naval Administration via the international maritime distress and safety channel.
The crew reported damage to the vessel and requested assistance due to a possible need for evacuation. In response, the Romanian authorities launched a search and rescue operation. The rescue vessels SAR Apollo and SAR Artemis, operated by the Romanian Agency for the Safety of Life at Sea, were dispatched to the scene of the incident. A helicopter from the General Inspectorate of Aviation of the Ministry of the Interior was also deployed for aerial reconnaissance.
Subsequently, the ship’s captain reported that there were no casualties and that evacuation of the crew was no longer required. The vessel is capable of continuing its journey to shore under its own power, where it is due to undergo a technical inspection and repairs.
Preliminary assessments by the Romanian authorities suggest that the damage to cargo hold No. 6 may have been caused by a collision with a maritime drone or the explosion of a sea mine. However, the authorities stress that these conclusions are preliminary and may be revised once the investigation is complete.
This is the second incident involving a commercial vessel in this area in recent days. Earlier, the gas tanker Gas Lisbon caught fire following an explosion near Romanian territorial waters. Three crew members were hospitalised, one of whom later died in a hospital in Tulcea County.
