Turkish-owned grain ship sinks off Romania after drone strike

According to the Kyiv Post, the 140-metre general cargo ship flies the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis and belongs to Türkiye-based MG Shipping 5 Co Ltd. It sank about 30 nautical miles south of Sfântu Gheorghe. That lies outside Romania's territorial waters but inside the exclusive economic zone, where the coastal state holds resource rights. Al Jazeera reports that the coast guard was alerted at around 11:00 local time and that the crew included Azerbaijani and Indian nationals. Romania's Interior Ministry confirmed the sinking but did not give the cause of the fire.

For now the attack claim rests on a single source. Zelenskiy said two Russian drones hit a civilian ship carrying maize in neutral waters; Russia has made no mention of the vessel. The Kyiv Post wrote that Romanian media reported a drone strike, but no evidence of the drones' origin has been made public. The same report says more than 300 merchant ships have been damaged or sunk since the full-scale invasion.

The constraint is piling up on Ankara's desk. According to UNN on 8 August, Türkiye called on Russia and Ukraine to agree a moratorium on attacks against merchant ships. Fergana reports that Ankara passed a Ukrainian-drafted text to Moscow, which has yet to reply formally. Türkiye and the UN are seeking a new maritime security arrangement reminiscent of the 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative, but its terms remain unclear. The sinking shows that the corridor out of the Danube ports cannot be protected even inside a NATO member's economic zone.