A search is under way for the crew of a cargo ship that sank after two commercial vessels were struck by drones in the Black Sea off Bulgaria on Tuesday, 6 October. Bulgarian authorities have not said how many people were aboard the sunken ship or who carried out the attack.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the vessels were attacked by aerial and sea drones in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. That is an area where Bulgaria has certain economic rights and responsibilities; it should not be described simply as Bulgarian territorial waters. Radev condemned the strikes as a violation of international and maritime law.
The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan suffered serious damage and sank. Its crew remained unaccounted for when Radev spoke. The second vessel, the Palau-flagged Able, caught fire. All 18 people aboard were evacuated, and two injured sailors were taken to hospital in Varna, according to AP’s account of the prime minister’s statement.
Bulgarian authorities are searching for the missing crew and checking for possible pollution. Radev said the cargo aboard the sunken ship had not been established. The Able was carrying wheat.
The attack has raised concern because Bulgaria is a NATO member and civilian shipping in the Black Sea has faced growing danger during the war in Ukraine. Radev warned that the conflict could spread further. But he said it was unclear whether the drones came from Russia or Ukraine. An early assessment cited by Reuters suggested possible Russian involvement; that assessment has not established responsibility.
The immediate priority remains finding the missing sailors and determining what happened. Any claim about who launched the attack needs evidence from the investigation.
