The port of Constanta, Romania’s largest, is on high alert. A marine drone exploded this Friday in one of its docks, near a gas cargo terminal. After finding the device, Romanian authorities issued two urgent warnings to the population and preventively evacuated the area, establishing a wide perimeter. There were no casualties.
The Ministry of Defense has reported that the object does not belong to the Romanian army, but is one used in Russia’s war in Ukraine. The recommendation to nearby residents is to remain in their homes while a wide perimeter is verified, in case there are more devices. The county prefect, Adrian-Teodor Picoiu, has quantified them as “five drones in total: one exploded in the port of Constanta, another on the Ukrainian side, and three other drones are being searched for by two helicopters to avoid problems.”
“The marine drone (…) detonated itself around 10:30 [one hour less in peninsular Spain] without causing any casualties. The area was already secured and isolated by forces from the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Coast Guard, and the Ministry of National Defense,” the Ministry indicated. The device, it added, has nothing to do with recent military exercises organized in the Black Sea.
According to commander Mateiu Sandu told Digi24 channel, the drone is a Magura V5 type (Autonomous Maritime Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus), similar to those used by Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Service (HUR). This same media outlet assures that four others with explosives have been found in the coastal area. At this moment, the case is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Constanta Court of Appeal.
For his part, Raed Arafat, head of the Department for Emergency Situations, has stated that there were possibly other drones. “The red code has been activated, eight fire trucks and ten ambulances have been mobilized, and an order has been given to monitor the coast by emergency service helicopter and by a Black Hawk aircraft,” he explained. Maritime Rescue notified at six in the morning that it had identified a drone, at which point the area was isolated.
The Emergency Service has ordered evacuation measures for the population living within one kilometer of the coast in the provinces of Constanta and Tulcea, which is equivalent to the entire Romanian coastline. “The entire coastal area, wherever there is a coast, there is a risk of a drone. Until we search, we are not sure if there is one or not,” Arafat explained.
“It is the second significant security incident this week on the Romanian coast, after the discovery of a maritime mine between Vama Veche and 2 Mai,” stressed the President of Romania, Nicusor Dan, in a message published on the social network Facebook, while attending the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Montenegro.
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The incident also recalls the one registered last Friday in Galati, when a Russian drone impacted the tenth floor of a residential block located in the center of this city of 250,000 inhabitants. The Kremlin denied it was theirs.
“With a military conflict on the border, it is obvious that the security environment we are in is delicate, so we will maintain a high level of vigilance,” Dan added. “These particularly serious situations are the direct consequences of the war of aggression unleashed by Russia against Ukraine.” The investigation continues its process.
“Our response must be adequate to the urgency. Europe is investing heavily in anti-drone capabilities, air defense, and early warning systems. SAFE [a financial instrument to boost the military industry] will help build a stronger Romania and a stronger Europe,” reacted the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in a message published on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
A few hours after the incident became known, the Russian Embassy in Bucharest assured that they were “Ukrainian unmanned maritime vehicles used by the Kyiv regime to commit terrorist acts against civilian vessels and create threats to navigation safety in the Black Sea.”
The blockade of Ukrainian grain and cargo ports has made Constanta a key alternative. Located in the Black Sea, however, its surroundings are being affected by the actions of Ukrainian security forces against vessels of the Russian ghost fleet or those transporting cargo from areas occupied by the Kremlin.
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