A marine drone that is typically used in the Ukraine war has caused a major explosion after hitting the main port of Constanța in NATO state Romania.
Footage showed thick plumes of smoke rising from the unmanned boat in the Black Sea port, near an oil terminal, at around 10:30am local time after it reportedly ‘self-detonated’.
Ukraine have confirmed that it was one of their naval drones but it had been knocked off course by Russia, who sabotaged its communications and caused it to drift into Romanian waters.
‘While carrying out missions in the Black Sea operational area, one of the Ukrainian Navy’s unmanned surface vessels came under the influence of the enemy’s electronic warfare systems, lost control, and ended up near the coast of Romania,’ the Ukrainian navy said.
They had also alerted Romania to the wayward drone in an effort to prevent civilian casualties, however the Navy were unable to detect it with their radar.
The Russian Embassy had initially suggested the drone belonged to Ukraine, adding that ‘any attempts to directly or indirectly associate these drones with Russia and to attribute responsibility for the incident to it are groundless’.
But Romania’s president Nicușor Dan called the incident a ‘direct consequence of the war of aggression unleashed by Russia against Ukraine’, with a further three sea drones being detected at sea and self-detonating.
The Black Sea port was urgently evacuated, as well as local beaches, with as many as a thousand people being moved to safety outside the one kilometre exclusion zone around the explosion.
A marine drone – similar to the ones used in the Ukraine war – has caused a major explosion after hitting the main port of Constanța in NATO state Romania
The unmanned boat had ‘self-detonated’ after it was isolated in the port, with Ukraine confirming that it was one of their naval drones but it had been knocked off course by Russian interference
No casualties have been confirmed and authorities said this was ‘strictly preventive in nature and being adopted exclusively to eliminate any potential risk to the population’.
Further drones were said to be floating out at sea, causing some concern this morning but are believed to have all now self detonated, per local outlet G4Media.
Restrictions have since eased, with the evacuation of nearby beaches being lifted and the country’s ‘Red Intervention Plan’ being deactivated after it was confirmed by President Dan that there was no further danger.
Staff in local hospitals were also temporarily alerted to prepare for an emergency, bringing in extra staff.
President Dan said that authorities ‘acted quickly and preventively’, adding that ‘with a military conflict on the border, it is obvious that the security environment we are in is a sensitive one, which is why we will maintain a high level of vigilance’.
Romania shares a shares a 400-mile border with Ukraine, with the civilian and naval port around 100 miles south of this boundary.
‘The maritime drone is of the type used in the war in Ukraine,’ said the NATO state’s defence ministry this morning.
The explosion was initially believed to have been triggered by a self timer after the sea drone had been ‘secured and isolated’ by forces of the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Coast Guard and the Ministry of National Defence.
However, Ukraine only alerted Romania to the missing ship at around 10am, four hours after the navy had first spotted the vessel, according to Minister Radu Miruță.
Within three minutes of the self-destruct system being detected, the boat exploded.
An ‘extreme’ RO Alert was issued with an order to evacuate people within a one kilometre radius amid reports ‘three more maritime drones heading towards the port’.
The alert stated: ‘Evacuate the area within a radius of 1 km in the coastal area of the Port of Constanta.
‘Stay calm! Take shelter in cellars or civil protection shelters. In the absence of shelter, stay inside the house, away from windows and external walls.’
An investigation is now underway, with authorities aware of necessary information with ‘a certain degree of certainty’, although would not share further details while checks were continuing this morning.
Head of the department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, told a press conference this afternoon that ‘there is a possibility that there may be other drones’, with helicopters deployed to search for the boats potentially lost at sea.
An emergencies chief said: ‘There is a possibility that there may be other drones in the area, which is why the RO Alert message was issued for Constanţa and Tulcea counties.
‘We decided to preventatively evacuate the coastal area for one kilometre until we ensure that there is no risk of another explosion.’
However, Romania’s navy also claimed that their radar systems were not able to detect the drone this morning due to its size, as well as not being built by metal.
They said in a statement: ‘Radar systems used for the surveillance of naval traffic are designed mainly for the detection and tracking of ships and objects that have a radar signature.
‘Small vessels, as well as objects for military use that do not have a metallic structure or are built to prevent radar observation, are difficult or impossible to detect consistently.
‘In such situations, the identification, confirmation and tracking of a target becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible, with the equipment available to the Naval Authority.’
The explosion comes just days after a Russian drone crashed into an apartment block in Galati, a city in southeastern Romoania close to the border with Ukraine.
Two people were injured and it was the first time that a drone had struck a densely populated area in a NATO state during the conflict in Ukraine.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: ‘One week after a drone crashed into an apartment building in Galați, a maritime drone today reached the port of Constanța.
‘This is a direct consequence of Russia’s war against Ukraine. It is increasingly becoming a direct threat to countries on our Eastern border.
Our solidarity with every Member State exposed to these threats is absolute. And our response must match the urgency.
‘Europe is investing massively in anti-drone capabilities, air defence and early warning systems. SAFE will help build a stronger Romania. And a stronger Europe.’
The Russian embassy posted on their Facebook: ‘Given the intentionally incomplete information disseminated by the Romanian Ministry of National Defense regarding the maritime drone that exploded in the port of Constanta, as well as three other similar drones drifting towards Romanian territorial waters, the Russian Embassy in Romania informs the Romanian public that these are Ukrainian unmanned maritime vehicles, used by the Kiev regime to commit terrorist acts against civilian ships and to create threats to the safety of navigation in the Black Sea.
‘Any attempts to directly or indirectly associate these drones with Russia and to attribute responsibility for the incident to it are groundless.’
