Cargo Ship Sinks Off Bulgaria After Drone Strike; Crew Search Underway
Two ships were targeted in Bulgarian waters, with one sinking and another rescued, raising concerns about escalating conflict in the Black Sea.
A merchant vessel sank off the coast of Bulgaria on Tuesday following drone attacks, while another ship was rescued after sustaining damage. The Togo-flagged ship, identified as the Alfa Watan, sank approximately 70 miles offshore. A rescue operation was launched for its crew, whose number is currently unknown, but they remain missing.
A Bulgarian ferry witnessed the explosions and reported finding overturned life rafts and jackets near the sunken vessel but no crew members. This marks the first reported drone attacks in Bulgarian waters. The incident occurred about 140 nautical miles from the Ukrainian coast.
The second vessel, the Palau-flagged Able, which was carrying grain, successfully rescued all 18 crew members, comprising 11 Turkish and seven Indian nationals. Two of these crew members were injured and transported to a hospital in the port city of Varna.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev described the attacks as a "gross violation of international law" and "absolutely unacceptable." While he did not explicitly identify the perpetrators, he referenced Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and suggested Russia is suspected of being behind the incident. A maritime security source indicated that initial assessments pointed to a Russian attack.
"If this war is not brought to an end in time, it will continue to expand its geographical scope and increase the risk of even a global conflict," Radev stated, emphasizing that civilian vessels are being attacked at sea. He added that such events are seriously disrupting shipping in the Black Sea, increasing insurance costs, and making maritime transport extremely difficult.
Bulgaria, a NATO member, does not share a border with either Russia or Ukraine but holds a strategic position in the Black Sea. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the attacks on civilian shipping, stating that "innocent crews – are being targeted, with lives already lost at sea."
These attacks follow a separate incident on Monday where two people died following a fire on a ship in the Black Sea outside Romanian territorial waters. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Russian drones for that incident. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European countries have reported numerous instances of Russian drones breaching their airspace and mines in the Black Sea impacting trade routes.
Maritime risk experts have noted a significant increase in attacks on merchant vessels in the Black Sea over the past year. Ambrey, a British maritime risk management group, reported that at least 45 merchant vessels have been attacked in the past 12 months in areas previously not considered high-risk. Turkey's Chamber of Maritime Commerce stated that since the start of the war, 226 civilian and commercial vessels have been attacked in the Black Sea, with the majority occurring this year.
NATO's top commander, U.S. General Alexus Grynkewich, has previously urged member countries to publicly identify those responsible for drone incidents once sufficient evidence is available.