Deadly drone strikes on merchant ships just pushed NATO to beef up its Black Sea patrols

The attacks

At least nine commercial vessels have been hit by drone strikes off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria over the past month, according to Reuters reporting. On October 13, drones struck two vessels off Bulgaria's coast: the Malta-flagged, Ukrainian-owned Chelsea 3, hit by three drones near the town of Byala (all 15 crew were rescued, and investigators are examining recovered drone debris to establish the weapon used), and the Guinea-Bissau-flagged HS Dignity, which sank near Krapets with 11 crew missing. Two days later, two chemical tankers caught fire near Romania's coast — including the Comoros-flagged Yara J, struck inside Romanian territorial waters near the Sulina Canal, where the crew put the blaze out without outside help. Seven sailors were reported missing from the San Marino-flagged Wine Trader. Across the incidents, at least 23 sailors have been reported dead or missing.

The NATO response

After the alliance's North Atlantic Council met at its Brussels headquarters on Tuesday, NATO announced it would send additional maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems, drones, intelligence personnel and forensic explosives-analysis teams to the Black Sea, Reuters reported. A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon has already begun reconnaissance flights over the Black Sea from Bulgaria, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev confirmed. Romanian President Nicușor Dan welcomed the additional support on Wednesday and said Romanian F-16s had shot down two suspected Russian drones over the country's territorial waters near Sulina on October 17. NATO has not formally attributed the attacks to any country; military analysts have said Russia is almost certainly responsible, but Moscow has not acknowledged any role.

The Canadian angle

The Danube and Black Sea routes carry Ukrainian grain to world markets — and attacks on them push war-risk insurance costs higher, with the bill eventually landing in food prices, including on Canadian shelves. Canada is a NATO member with skin in the alliance's eastern-flank posture, and Ottawa has a direct stake in whether shipping lanes near allied territory stay open.