Prime Minister Luca Niculescu announces additional NATO equipment for the naval forces after a ship was hit by a drone in the Black Sea

Prime Minister Luca Niculescu announced on Friday, October 23, that Romania will receive additional equipment for its naval forces following steps taken at NATO level. The statement came after the vessel Khoryv was hit by a drone in the Black Sea, 13 nautical miles—approximately 24 kilometers—from the Port of Constanța, outside Romania’s territorial waters.

The incident resulted in the death of one person on board. The Romanian Naval Authority announced that the vessel had a 13-member crew: 10 Ukrainian citizens and three Azerbaijani citizens. Response teams rescued nine people and recovered one body, while operations to find the remaining three crew members were continuing.

The prime minister called the incident “unacceptable” and a violation of international law and freedom of navigation. Niculescu said Romania would continue coordinating with Bulgaria and Turkey on maritime security and that Romanian authorities were focused on saving lives and protecting sailors. He attributed the escalation of the situation to Russia.