Drones Hit Two Ships Off Bulgaria, One Sinks, in Second Black Sea Attack in a Week

Since drones sank the Togo-flagged Alfa Watan on Oct. 6 inside Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, the Black Sea has had no quiet week. Early today, Oct. 13, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said a second pair of merchant ships was hit.

What happened overnight

Radev said Bulgaria's rescue center received a distress signal at 1:30 a.m. local time from the Chelsea 3. The ship is Ukrainian-owned, Odesa-registered and sails under the Maltese flag. Its crew reported that three aerial drones hit the deck and side of the vessel, about 18 nautical miles (33 km) east of the town of Byala.

Border police pulled all 15 crew off the ship, seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis. Five received treatment for minor injuries, and Radev said no one was seriously hurt. The Chelsea 3 is a 136-meter general cargo ship that, per Maritime.bg, was sailing from the Turkish port of Giresun to Giurgiulesti in Moldova.

A second ship was hit about 17 nautical miles east of Krapets on Bulgaria's northern coast, and it sank, Radev said. One crew member was rescued. Radev gave no further details on that vessel's name, flag or the rest of its crew.

The Oct. 6 attack

The earlier strike came about 70 nautical miles east of Byala, when sea and aerial drones hit the Alfa Watan and the Palau-flagged grain carrier Able. Radev called it the first attack on shipping in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone.

The Alfa Watan, a Turkish-owned 83-meter cargo ship, sank. Rescuers found three life rafts and an overturned lifeboat but none of its 10 crew. Rumen Nikolov, head of rescue operations at Bulgaria's Maritime Administration, said the search ended on Oct. 6 at 5 p.m. local time and would not resume.

All 18 crew of the Able, 11 Turkish and seven Indian, were rescued by the Bulgarian ferry Dioscuria. Two were hospitalized. Nikolov said the Able, which was carrying wheat and burning with its engine room flooded, would probably sink as well.

Who is responsible

Nobody has claimed either attack, and Radev stopped short of blaming Moscow. "We do not have solid and clear evidence to make accusations against either side, but logic, as I have already stated, indicates that the result benefits the Russian Federation," he said after an emergency meeting of the government's Security Council. He said he would summon Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha blamed Russia for what he called a deliberate disregard for civilian lives and maritime security. After the Oct. 6 strike, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine's military ran no operations near the site and blamed a combined Russian attack.

Russia has rejected that account. Its embassy in Sofia said the Alfa Watan was not among the targets hit by Russian drones. The Russian Defence Ministry said the origin of the drones would have to be established through an investigation. Moscow has not publicly commented on today's strikes.

The Chelsea 3 is Ukrainian-owned, while the Oct. 6 victims were Turkish-owned. Radev has presented no evidence tying either strike to a specific party.

Bulgaria's response

Radev called the attack "absolutely unacceptable" and said it came "in the immediate vicinity of Bulgarian territorial waters." He said he is due to speak with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. He also said Bulgaria will keep asking allies for help identifying where the drones came from and for stronger air and sea surveillance.

After the first strike, Radev called it "a flagrant violation of maritime law" and warned that if the war "is not halted in time, it will continue to expand its geographical reach." President Iliana Iotova convened the national security council on maritime security. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said attacks on civilian shipping are "unacceptable."

Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone covers just over 29,000 square kilometers, about 6% of the Black Sea. Bulgaria borders neither Russia nor Ukraine, but as a NATO member it sits on a route both countries depend on for ports and grain exports.

On Oct. 6, NATO referred questions to Bulgarian authorities. It is unclear whether the alliance will do more now that a second attack has occurred in the same waters.

The next concrete steps are Radev's conversation with Rutte and the summoning of Mitrofanova. The 10 crew of the Alfa Watan remain unaccounted for, and no one has yet established who launched the drones.