Defence Minister Radu Oprea has strongly condemned the repeated drone attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea.

'I am strongly condemning the repeated drone attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea. Today, just as I was attending the trilateral meeting of the defence ministers of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey in Sofia, I received news that a commercial ship heading for the port of Constanta was hit by three drones near the coast of Bulgaria. This event represents a new serious threat to freedom of navigation and regional security. The war of aggression unleashed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine continues to produce dramatic effects beyond the conflict zone, endangering the lives of sailors, commercial transport and the security of the states bordering the Black Sea,' Oprea wrote in a social media post on Wednesday.

He added that the incidents of recent weeks, including the tragic attack on a merchant ship near the coast of Romania, demonstrate that the threats to maritime security are real and increasingly serious.

'Romania will continue to act, together with NATO allies and regional partners, to strengthen maritime surveillance, increase the capacity to respond to drone threats and protect freedom of navigation. Black Sea security is essential to the security of Romania, the region and the entire North Atlantic Alliance.'

A merchant ship was attacked with drones on Wednesday in the Black Sea, near the coast of Bulgaria, the authorities in Sofia reported.

Bulgarian authorities have sent a boat to provide assistance to the attacked ship, while its crew is evacuated with the help of lifeboats, public broadcaster BNT reported.

According to Bulgarian Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov, the ship was hit by three drones about 21 nautical miles from the town of Sbla.

According to the specialised agency Maritime.bg, the name of the ship hit is Contship Jet, a container ship that had left the Israeli port of Haifa and was heading for the Romanian port of Constanta.

Fishermen who witnessed the attack say they saw a fire break out on board the vessel and that it tilted considerably to the right. It is the fifth commercial vessel attacked by drones this month off the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

The incident comes as the defence ministers of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey were meeting in Sofia to discuss measures to protect civilian shipping in the Black Sea from mutual attacks between Russia and Ukraine. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Dana Piciu; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)