Tanker hit by three drones off Romania: Rescued crew shares details
Illustrative photo: a tanker (GettyImages)
Crew members of the tanker Gas Lisbon, which was damaged off the coast of Romania, have shared details of the attack for the first time. They said the vessel was struck by three drones, after which the crew began evacuating personnel and assisting the injured, according to Digi24.
Three drone strikes hit the tanker
Two crew members rescued after the attack on the Gas Lisbon tanker off Romania’s coast said the vessel was hit by three attack drones.
Crew member Aleksandre Megrelidze of Georgia said he was in his cabin when he felt the first explosion. According to him, the tanker was struck three times.
What happened after the attack
Despite the stressful situation, the crew immediately began carrying out emergency procedures. They organized an evacuation and rushed to assist three injured colleagues.
Another rescued crew member, Alexander Arro, said the attack occurred at around 11:00 p.m. He believes the tanker was initially hit by two drones—one struck the engine room, while the other hit the crew accommodation area.
Help arrived hours later
According to Arro, a third drone struck the tanker about three hours after the initial attacks. He said Romanian rescue services arrived at the scene only four to five hours after the attack began.
During that time, the crew carried out rescue operations on their own and worked to minimize the damage to the vessel.
Earlier, on July 21, Romania’s president reported that a Liberia-flagged tanker had been struck off the country’s coast. The vessel was sailing from Alexandria, Egypt, to the Ukrainian port of Reni and was approximately 20 nautical miles off the Romanian coast when it came under attack.
