Drone Attacks Raise Black Sea Shipping Risks

A civilian cargo ship, the Alfa Watan, sank after a drone attack in the Black Sea within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, and its crew is missing. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the attacks involved air and sea drones at about 03:00, roughly 70 miles off the eastern Bulgarian town of Byala. The Turkish-owned ship was flying the flag of Togo and was reportedly heading for Sulina, Romania. Its cargo and the number of people aboard are not known. Bulgarian sailors who reached the area found an overturned boat, rafts and life jackets, prompting a search operation. A second ship, the Able, was also hit. It was carrying grain, flying the flag of Palau, and was last reported about five nautical miles from the Alfa Watan. All 18 crew members were rescued; two were injured in a fire. The crew included 11 Turkish and seven Indian nationals. Radev condemned the attacks as violations of maritime law but did not identify who was responsible. He warned that the war in Ukraine could expand geographically and increase risks, including the risk of global conflict. Russia had not commented on the incident. The attacks occurred amid intensified Russian strikes in the Black Sea and followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s accusation that Russia had struck a civilian vessel carrying corn. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called attacks on civilian shipping unacceptable and said the situation in the Black Sea was increasingly concerning. The article also reports a separate attack near Odesa on Tuesday, in which one crew member was killed and seven injured, and notes Russia’s stated intention to intensify strikes across Ukraine in response to Zelensky’s comments about Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Two commercial vessels were attacked by drones on Tuesday in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said. The strikes occurred around 3 a.m. local time, about 128 kilometres off the Bulgarian coast near Byala. The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan suffered critical structural damage and sank; officials had no immediate information about its crew. The Palau-flagged Able caught fire, but a Bulgarian ferry evacuated all 18 crew members. Two sailors were severely injured and taken to a hospital in Varna. Authorities had not established who launched the drones and were monitoring for possible oil spills and other pollution. Radev condemned the attack as a violation of international and maritime law, saying it was disrupting shipping and raising insurance costs. He warned that the war was expanding geographically and increasing the risk of global conflict. NATO referred questions to Bulgarian authorities, while the European Commission’s president condemned attacks on civilian vessels and crews. The incidents followed a drone attack the previous day on a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying corn off Romania. That vessel later sank; two people died and 11 crew members were rescued. The article places the attacks within a broader escalation of danger to Black Sea shipping amid Russia’s war against Ukraine. It reports that Russia has attacked Ukrainian ports and shipping, while Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces struck targets in Ukraine’s Odesa region, including port infrastructure and a bulk carrier. The ministry also claimed Russian air defences intercepted nearly 900 Ukrainian drones overnight across Russia, occupied Crimea and the Sea of Azov. The origin of the attacks on the two vessels near Bulgaria remained unknown at the time of reporting.

A merchant ship sank in the Black Sea off Bulgaria after an attack involving air and sea drones, leaving its crew missing as of Tuesday. The attack took place about 70 miles off the Bulgarian town of Byala, within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone and roughly 140 nautical miles from Ukraine’s coast. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev called the strike a gross violation of international law, but said it was unclear whether the drones came from Russia or Ukraine. A maritime security source said initial assessments suggested a Russian attack; Russia had not commented. Radev said two ships were hit. The crew of one grain-carrying vessel was rescued, with two people injured. The other vessel, a Togo-flagged ship that sank, had an undisclosed cargo and an unknown number of people aboard. Authorities launched a search for the missing crew and assessed whether the incident posed an environmental threat. British maritime risk management group Vanguard identified the vessels as the Togo-flagged ALFA WATAN and Palau-flagged ABLE, both of which sent distress signals. The incident was described by shipping sources as the first attack of its kind in Bulgarian waters, amid wider concerns about possible hybrid attacks connected to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Radev warned that the conflict could spread geographically and raise the risk of a global conflict, condemning attacks on civilian vessels. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also denounced attacks on commercial ships and crews, while Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar expressed solidarity with Bulgaria. The report also notes a separate Black Sea ship fire outside Romanian waters in which two people died; Ukraine’s president blamed Russian drones. Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, European countries have reported Russian drones entering their airspace and mines drifting across Black Sea trade and energy routes.

Two people died and 11 crew members were rescued after a fire aboard the cargo ship Royad Mammadov in the Black Sea outside Romania’s territorial waters, Romanian authorities said Monday. The vessel sank after the incident. Romania’s Naval Authority identified the ship, but Romanian officials did not state what caused the fire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Russian drones, describing the event as a strike by two drones on a civilian vessel carrying corn. He said the ship was owned by Türkiye and that Azerbaijani and Indian citizens were aboard. Zelensky confirmed the captain’s death and said the fate of another person was still being established; one of the 11 rescued crew members was injured. Russian authorities had not commented at the time of the report. An earlier Russian Defence Ministry bulletin said Russia had struck two cargo vessels. Romanian media reported that the incident occurred near an oil platform operated by Romanian energy company OMV Petrom. The company told the Romanian outlet HotNews.ro that the platform was functioning normally. The ship was sailing under the flag of St Kitts and Nevis, was bound for Ravenna, Italy, and had last docked at Ukraine’s port of Izmail, according to VesselFinder.com. The incident took place against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war and heightened maritime risks in the Black Sea. Romania, a NATO member bordering Ukraine, has reported Russian drones entering its airspace and mines drifting through the sea, where important trade and energy routes run. The report presents the cause as disputed: Romanian authorities did not attribute the fire, while Zelensky blamed Russian drones and Russia had made no immediate comment.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said two commercial vessels were struck by drones in Bulgaria’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), about 128 kilometres off the coast. The attack occurred in the Black Sea and was described as the first attack on shipping in the exclusive waters of a NATO member country. Radev made the announcement on Tuesday after an emergency meeting about the incident. One vessel, the Togo-flagged Alfa Watan, sustained critical structural damage and sank at the scene. Officials did not immediately know what had happened to its crew. The second vessel, the Palau-flagged Able, caught fire. A Bulgarian ferry rescued all 18 crew members; two were seriously injured and taken by air to a hospital in Varna. The origin of the drones was unknown at the time of the report. The article places the incident alongside an attack the previous day on a Turkish-owned grain cargo ship in the Black Sea. That vessel also caught fire and sank, killing an Indian and an Azerbaijani citizen. A sidebar-style explainer distinguishes an EEZ from territorial waters. Territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from a coast and are treated as sovereign territory. An EEZ can extend to 200 nautical miles, but the coastal state’s rights there are primarily economic, including fishing, oil drilling and mining. Other countries retain freedoms such as navigation and overflight. The report does not identify who launched the drones or establish whether the attacks on the vessels were connected.