Ukrainian grain ship sinks off Romania, two crew dead

A ship carrying Ukrainian grain sank in the Black Sea near the Romanian coast, killing two crew members and leaving 11 others rescued. The vessel was en route from Ukraine to Italy. The Romanian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center received the distress signal at 10:37 on Monday, October 5. The ship, ROYAD MAMMADOV, was approximately 20 nautical miles from the Romanian shore and 9 nautical miles from the Pescarus oil platform. Rescue vessels and a helicopter were dispatched; the captain was injured. The incident occurred amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to restore Black Sea grain exports. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have both called for renewed negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, with Turkey and the UN organizing talks to protect grain supplies amid rising global food prices.