The rescued sailors reported three drone strikes on a tanker off the coast of Romania
Two rescued crew members of the tanker Gas Lisbon stated that the vessel, off the coast of Romania, was struck three times by drones. This was reported by “European Truth,” citing the Digi24 television channel.
Alexander Megrelidze, a sailor from Georgia, said he was in his cabin when he felt the first strike. According to him, the tanker was hit by a total of three drones. After the attack, the crew followed protocol: they organized an evacuation and provided assistance to three injured colleagues.
Another crew member, Alexander Arro, said the attack occurred around 11:00 p.m. He speculated that the ship was initially attacked by two drones: one struck the engine room, and the other hit the living quarters. According to him, a third drone attacked the tanker about three hours later, and Romanian rescue teams arrived on the scene four to five hours later.
On July 21, the President of Romania reported that a Liberian-flagged tanker had been struck off the country’s coast. The vessel was en route from Alexandria, Egypt, to Reni, Ukraine, on the Danube and was approximately 20 nautical miles from the Romanian coast at the time of the attack.
Andriy Sibiga, Ukraine’s Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, condemned the actions of the Russian Federation—the aggressor state—and thanked Romania for rescuing the crew. Earlier, on July 19, Russia struck the civilian vessel Golden Leo, which was carrying a cargo of grain, near Odesa, killing 10 people.
