Romania: seven missing from Wine Trader as Black Sea rescue operation continues
Five sailors were rescued and taken to hospital. Heavy seas are hampering searches near Sulina; a separate incident involves Yara J.
A search for seven members of Wine Trader’s crew is under way on 15 October 2026 following a fire aboard the tanker near Sulina in the Black Sea. Five of its twelve sailors have been rescued.
Public broadcaster Radio România Constanța, citing emergency service IGSU in a 16:03 local-time update — the same time as in Greece — reported that the five were flown to Constanța and taken to hospital. Their initial medical assessment found them stable. The figure of seven missing is also corroborated by an accessible Reuters report.
In a later 18:41 update from the same broadcaster, the Romanian Naval Authority’s spokesperson confirmed that seven were still being sought. According to the hospital’s update, one of the five rescued sailors remained hospitalised; the other four did not require admission.
Difficult conditions for rescuers
Romania’s Interior Ministry confirms the deployment of two Black Hawk helicopters, vessels and medical teams. Its initial statement stressed that very large waves prevented safe rescue operations. That announcement describes the mobilisation, not the operation’s final outcome.
Two different ships
According to Reuters, San Marino-flagged Wine Trader was approximately 13 nautical miles southeast of Sulina, outside Romanian territorial waters. Comoros-flagged Yara J caught fire late on 14 October inside Romanian waters; its crew is safe.
Romanian President Nicușor Dan said the two ships were hit by drones, Reuters reports, without naming a responsible country. Responsibility is not presented here as an independently established fact. The missing sailors are not recorded as confirmed dead.
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