Sofia, October 13: Two ships were struck by drones in the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria on Tuesday, leaving one vessel sunk and triggering emergency rescue operations, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said.
In a video statement posted on social media, Radev said rescuers evacuated all 15 crew members from the Maltese-flagged vessel Chelsea 3. Five crew members sustained minor injuries and received medical treatment.
The crew, comprising seven Ukrainian and eight Azerbaijani nationals, reported that three aerial drones had struck the ship’s deck and hull.
One crew member from the second, sunken vessel was rescued, Radev said, without providing further details about the remaining people on board.
The attacks occurred approximately 18 miles (29 kilometres) and 17 miles (27.5 kilometres) from the Bulgarian coast.
Following the incident, Radev convened an emergency meeting of Bulgaria’s Security Council and described the attacks as “absolutely unacceptable”. He said Bulgaria was seeking assistance from NATO and the European Union.
Although authorities had no conclusive evidence identifying those responsible, Radev suggested that Russia could benefit from the attacks. Moscow had not immediately commented on the incident.
The Bulgarian Prime Minister also said he would summon Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova for discussions on Tuesday.
The latest strikes come a week after drones reportedly targeted two other commercial vessels within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. One Togo-flagged ship sank, while the crew of another vessel was evacuated by a Bulgarian ferry.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had denied that Ukraine’s military conducted operations near the locations of the earlier attacks and blamed Russia.
In a separate incident a day before Tuesday’s strikes, a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying corn caught fire following a drone attack and later sank in the Black Sea off Romania’s coast. Romanian authorities reported that two people died and 11 crew members were rescued.
The successive incidents have raised fresh concerns over maritime security in the Black Sea, where the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has increased risks to commercial shipping and regional stability.
