Marine drone explodes in NATO-member Romania port, sparking evacuation

A seaplane similar to those used in the Ukraine war caused a huge explosion after hitting the main port of Constanta, a NATO member Romania.

Although isolated, the images show smoke rising from the unmanned boat, which ‘self-exploded’ near an oil terminal in the Black Sea port at around 10.30am local time.

The Black Sea port was urgently evacuated for fear of three more seaplanes approaching, while nearby residents were warned to take cover; however, no casualties have been confirmed.

It is not yet clear who the green drone belongs to, but Romanian officials emphasized that it does not belong to the Romanian armed forces.

The Russian Embassy also claimed that the marine drone did not belong to them, but instead belonged to Ukraine.

Romanian president Nicușor Dan said more information would be shared this afternoon and that if there were other drones, they would not be able to reach the shore.

Romania shares a 400-mile border with Ukraine and has a civil and maritime port approximately 100 miles south of that border.

‘The maritime UAV is of the type used in the war in Ukraine,’ the NATO state’s defense ministry said.

The unmanned boat ‘self-detonated’ around 10.30am local time and it was not immediately clear who the green drone belonged to.

‘The situation is dynamic and we will return with information and official data as it becomes available.’

The explosion occurred after the marine drone was ‘secured and isolated’ by forces of the Romanian Intelligence Service, Coast Guard and Ministry of National Defense. Apparently a timer was set to go off.

An ‘extreme’ RO Alert has been issued with orders to evacuate people within a one kilometer radius, amid reports that ‘three more seaplanes are heading towards the harbour’.

The following statements were included in the warning: ‘Evacuate the area within 1 km of the coastal area of ​​Constanta Port.

‘Calm down! Take shelter in basements or civilian shelters.

‘If shelter is unavailable, stay inside the house, away from windows and exterior walls.’

Interior Minister Raed Arafat said: ‘We now know there is a risk of self-detonation, we have evacuated in case there are more drones.’

‘We are not panicking, the measures are completely preventive.’

An emergency chief said: ‘There is a possibility that there may be other drones in the area, so the RO Alert message has been issued for Constanta and Tulcea districts.

‘We decided to pre-emptively evacuate the coastal area for one kilometer until we were satisfied there was no risk of another explosion.’

The Russian embassy posted on Facebook: ‘Given the deliberately incomplete information provided by the Romanian Ministry of National Defense about the maritime drone that exploded in the port of Constanta and three other similar unmanned aerial vehicles drifting towards Romanian territorial waters, the Russian Embassy in Romania informs the Romanian public that these are Ukrainian unmanned vessels used by the Kiev regime to carry out terrorist acts against civilian ships and pose a threat to the safety of navigation in the Black Sea.

‘Any attempt to directly or indirectly link these drones to Russia and place responsibility for the incident on Russia is unfounded.’

According to reports, the Romanian Prime Minister and President Nicușor Dan were immediately informed about the events. A criminal investigation is currently ongoing.

The explosion occurred near the headquarters of the Romanian Agency for the Rescue of Human Life at Sea in the civil part of the port.

The main NATO ground battle group in Romania is French-led and also includes troops from Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg.

Other NATO forces also rotate or operate in Romania, including US troops in Mihail Kogălniceanu and Câmpia Turzii and air police deployments such as RAF Typhoons in the United Kingdom.

The explosion occurred just days after a Russian drone crashed into an apartment block in Galati, a city in southeastern Romania near the Romanian border.

While two people were injured, it was the first time a UAV hit a densely populated area in a NATO country during the conflict in Ukraine.