In a recent incident on Tuesday, October 13th, the safety of Black Sea shipping has once again been affected by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Bulgarian officials reported that two cargo ships were attacked by drones in the waters off the coast of the Black Sea in Bulgaria during the night, with one of the ships sinking and 11 crew members currently missing. This marks another occurrence within a week of drone attacks on commercial vessels in the waters off Bulgaria, prompting Bulgarian Prime Minister to summon the Russian ambassador.
According to reports from Reuters, Bulgaria has not explicitly accused Russia of initiating the attack. Prime Minister Rumen Radev stated that there is currently a lack of concrete evidence to attribute responsibility to a specific party, but logically, the outcome of the events favors the Russian Federation.
As of the time of reporting, Moscow has not commented on the incident.
Radev expressed in a televised speech, “This is absolutely unacceptable, another attack has occurred near Bulgarian waters.”
Bulgarian officials revealed that the sunken cargo ship, named “HS Dignity,” flying the flag of Guinea-Bissau, sank about 17 nautical miles east of the village of Krapets. Rescue teams have saved 5 crew members, while 11 remain missing, and search and rescue operations are ongoing.
The other cargo ship, “Chelsea 3,” owned by a Ukrainian shipowner and registered in Odessa, flying the flag of Malta, was attacked by three drones about 18 nautical miles east of Byala. The hull of the ship was damaged, but all 15 crew members on board, including 7 Ukrainians and 8 Azerbaijanis, were rescued. Despite 5 crew members receiving medical assistance, fortunately, no one suffered serious injuries.
A week ago, the ship “Alfa Watan,” flying the flag of Togo, was attacked by drones and sunk in the exclusive economic zone of Bulgaria in the Black Sea. Nine Syrian sailors and one Egyptian sailor went missing; Bulgaria subsequently ceased the search and rescue operation, and the fate of the missing crew members remains unconfirmed. On the same night, another ship, “Able,” was also attacked, but all crew members were rescued, with 2 sustaining injuries.
Ukraine and the European Commission President condemned the latest attack. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed on social media platform X, “The Black Sea has become another front where Russia escalates the war in Ukraine. I strongly condemn the drone attacks on merchant ships near the Bulgarian coast… The perpetrators must be held accountable.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated on X, “This attack once again demonstrates Moscow’s deliberate disregard for civilian lives and maritime security in the Black Sea.” He added, “The Black Sea is a lifeline for global food security. Russia’s attack on the Black Sea is to weaponize hunger and hold the world hostage.”
The Bulgarian government declared in a statement that Radev spoke with Von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Tuesday, urging them to support enhancing Bulgaria’s maritime and airspace surveillance.
Rutte mentioned that NATO will continue to adjust its military deployments in the Eastern flank as needed.
The Bulgarian government indicated that Radev has summoned the Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova, demanding an explanation from the Russian side regarding the incident.
Mitrofanova later stated that she has not received any information from the Russian Ministry of Defense regarding the attack on the Black Sea merchant ships, but she did not rule out the possibility of third-party provocation in these attacks.
Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the war has been ongoing for over four years, putting increasing long-term pressure on the security and economy of Black Sea shipping.
Both Ukraine and Russia are major global exporters of food. Previously, Russia had targeted Ukrainian Black Sea ports and related shipping infrastructure.