Royad Mammadov Sunk by Russian Drones in Black Sea

Two Russian drones struck and sank the cargo ship Royad Mammadov in Romania's Black Sea exclusive economic zone on October 5, 2026. Two crew members were killed. Eleven others were pulled from the water.

The ship was carrying Ukrainian corn from the port of Izmail to Ravenna, Italy. It went down roughly 30 nautical miles south of Sfantu Gheorghe. Romania's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre directed the rescue operation.

The ship flew the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis and was Turkish-owned. Its crew included Azerbaijani and Indian nationals. Among those killed was the captain, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement. "Russia consistently chooses terror and sinking civilian ships," he said.

The attack is part of a wider pattern of strikes against commercial ships in the Black Sea. By late September, Ukraine's drone campaign had disabled 300 shadow fleet ships across the Sea of Azov and Black Sea, targeting aging tankers carrying Russian oil under Western sanctions. The risk to civilian shipping had already drawn diplomatic attention: Turkey submitted a draft memorandum to Russia and Ukraine in mid-September proposing two protected Black Sea civilian shipping corridors. No agreement was reached.