A civilian cargo ship has sunk and its crew is missing after being attacked by drones in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, according to Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev. The attack occurred around 3:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, approximately 70 miles (112 kilometers) off the coastal town of Byala in eastern Bulgaria. A second vessel carrying grain was also struck in the same incident, though its crew was rescued.
The sunken vessel, the Togo-flagged Alfa Watan, was a Turkish-owned general cargo ship reportedly heading for Sulina, Romania. The specific number of crew members aboard and the ship's cargo were not immediately disclosed. A Bulgarian ferry that was nearby found only an overturned boat, rafts, and life jackets at the scene. Search and rescue operations have been launched to locate the missing crew members and assess any environmental threats, including potential oil spills.
The second ship, the Palau-flagged Able, caught fire after being struck and was carrying grain. Bulgarian sailors rescued all 18 crew members from the vessel—11 Turkish nationals and 7 Indian nationals. Two crew members were hospitalized with severe injuries: one suffering from burns and another from a head injury. Both vessels issued distress signals after being struck, according to maritime security reports.
The origin of the drones used in the attack has not been definitively established. Bulgarian authorities said they were investigating whether the drones came from Russia or Ukraine. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine's military had not conducted operations in the area and accused Russia of carrying out the attack using maritime and aerial drones. "We verified all the details with the Bulgarian side. Our Navy contacted its counterparts in Bulgaria, and it has been established that this was a combined Russian attack using maritime and aerial drones," Zelenskyy said. Russia has not commented on the incident. Maritime security sources said initial assessments suggested the strike was likely Russian in origin.
Prime Minister Radev condemned the strikes as "a flagrant violation of maritime law" and an "unacceptable attack." He emphasized that the incident occurred within Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, an area where Bulgaria holds sovereign rights over marine resources. "As a state responsible within our exclusive economic zone for the health and lives of anyone navigating in this area, regardless of who is responsible, we are obliged to conduct emergency search and rescue operations," Radev said. He warned that if the Russia-Ukraine war continued unchecked, it would expand geographically and increase the risk of global conflict.
European leaders have expressed grave concern over the attacks. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated: "The situation in the Black Sea is increasingly concerning. Commercial ships – and innocent crews – are being targeted, with lives already lost at sea." She noted that while exact circumstances are still being established, "the developments are very concerning." NATO declined to comment and referred inquiries to Bulgarian authorities. Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar expressed solidarity with Bulgaria.
The incident comes one day after another cargo ship caught fire and sank off the Romanian coast following a drone strike, according to Romanian authorities. That attack killed two people and left one missing, with 11 crew members rescued. Ukrainian officials blamed Russian drones for that incident as well. The Black Sea has become increasingly dangerous for commercial shipping since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with reports of drones breaching NATO airspace and mines floating across trade routes. Maritime security firms have warned of a significant escalation in threats to shipping, particularly the geographic expansion of incidents into the exclusive economic zones of NATO members Bulgaria and Romania.
