A vessel carrying coal bound for Ukraine was attacked near Romania
24.07.2026 - 12:22
The Liberian-flagged commercial vessel Christiana B, which was transporting coal from the United States to Ukraine, was damaged in the Black Sea.
On the night of July 24, Romanian authorities received a report of an incident on board the commercial vessel “Christiana B”. This was reported by the Romanian Department of Emergency Situations.
The Liberian-flagged vessel was transporting coal from the port of Norfolk in the United States to Ukraine. At the time of the incident, it was in Romania’s exclusive economic zone, approximately 22 nautical miles southeast of the settlement of Sfintu Gheorghe.
The distress signal was transmitted via the international maritime communication channel. The crew reported the damage to the vessel and requested assistance. At that time, there was a possibility of evacuation of the crew.
After receiving the report, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) of the Romanian Maritime Administration activated response mechanisms. The SAR APOLLO and SAR ARTEMIS rescue vessels of the Romanian Agency for the Rescue of Human Life at Sea (ARSVOM) were dispatched to the incident area. A helicopter of the General Aviation Inspectorate of the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs also performed an aerial reconnaissance to assess the situation.
According to information received from the captain of the vessel, there are no injuries and the crew no longer requires evacuation. The vessel can continue to move towards the shore for technical inspection and repair of damage.
Preliminary assessments indicate that the damage in the area of hold No. 6 could have been caused by a strike by a naval drone or the explosion of a naval mine.
The Romanian authorities continue to monitor the situation and coordinate the actions of all structures involved in the response. The department emphasized that the information is currently preliminary and may change.
Earlier, USM reported that the number of victims of the Russian attack on the tanker Gas Lisbon has increased.
