Who Guards Black Sea Gas Platforms? Warning Issued After Drone Incident in Constanța Port: 'We'd Likely Have a Collective Mess'

A recent drone incident near a ship in Constanța Port has reignited concerns about the security of Romania's strategic energy infrastructure in the Black Sea. The explosion, which occurred Friday near a vessel and a building without causing casualties, has brought to light a significant vulnerability: the absence of a unified structure to coordinate the protection of critical energy assets, particularly offshore gas platforms.

Dumitru Chisăliță, president of the Intelligent Energy Association, warns that while multiple institutions are involved in securing these platforms, none holds exclusive responsibility. These entities include OMV Petrom for industrial security, private security firms for on-site protection, the Romanian Naval Forces for maritime surveillance, the Romanian Air Force for airspace monitoring, intelligence services for threat assessment, the Ministry of Interior and Border Police for maritime security, and the Romanian Naval Authority for traffic monitoring.

Chisăliță questions the state's response capacity during a crisis, asking who would coordinate initial interventions, maintain an integrated view of various threats, and prioritize actions if multiple critical infrastructures are simultaneously affected. The situation is further complicated by the Neptun Deep project, a major energy investment for Romania and the EU, located in Romania's Exclusive Economic Zone.

This project's development underscores the urgency of establishing clear security protocols and a unified command. The vulnerability extends beyond territorial waters into the Exclusive Economic Zone, where Romania holds sovereign rights over resources and infrastructure, emphasizing the need for a robust and coordinated defense strategy.

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There is no institution that has the primary and exclusive mission of defending offshore and onshore energy infrastructure and coordinating the security of Romania's energy.