Sailor aboard gas tanker hit near Romanian waters dies in hospital

One of the sailors injured following the explosion that occurred aboard the Gas Lisbon vessel while it was transiting the Black Sea near Romania’s territorial waters has died. 

The sailor who died was one of the three crew members who were transported to hospital after the incident. He was hospitalized at the Tulcea County Emergency Hospital.

The three were brought to the hospital two days ago, after the vessel they were on was engulfed in flames.

"He suffered burns to the airways and had a pulmonary complication related to this burn, which caused his death," said Tudor-Ion Năstăsescu, the director of the medical unit, according to News.ro.

The other two injured sailors, both of Filipino origin, are hospitalized in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit.

"They are in a stable condition. They are hospitalized in Intensive Care, but there are no life-threatening issues. They do not require transfer to other medical units," he added. 

Gas Lisbon, an LPG tanker flying the Liberian flag, had departed from the port of Alexandria (Egypt) and was heading to Reni (Ukraine), transiting Romania's Exclusive Economic Zone. It was approximately 20 nautical miles southeast of the town of Sfântu Gheorghe when it suffered major damage and a fire broke out on board. 

Sources from the Lower Danube River Administration in Galati initially told Digi24 the ship was attacked by a naval drone. The sailors said they were woken up by powerful explosions. “When I woke up, I heard those explosions. It was like a bomb, like a missile,” one of the crew members recounted, according to TVRInfo. Several sailors stated that the vessel had allegedly been hit by three drones. 

Romania’s acting defense minister, Radu Miruță, said on Wednesday, July 22, that the incident was yet another reminder that the country must be prepared for worst-case scenarios.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Marinetraffic.com via Sakis Antoniou) ...