Two More Ships Hit by Drones off Bulgaria; One Sunk With 11 Sailors Missing as Sofia Summons Russia’s Envoy

Two merchant ships were struck by drones off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast in the early hours of Tuesday, and one was reported sunk with 11 sailors missing, Bulgarian officials said, the second deadly attack on shipping off the NATO member’s coast in a week.

Bulgarian media identified the sunken vessel as the cargo ship Azov Concord, which went down about 17 nautical miles east of Krapets. Bulgarian officials said five crew members were rescued by passing merchant ships, while 11 were listed as missing. Interior ministry officials later said the vessel’s fate had not been conclusively established, according to the maritime publication Splash247.

The second ship, the Maltese-flagged, Ukrainian-owned general cargo vessel Chelsea 3, was struck by three aerial drones around 1:30 a.m. about 18 nautical miles east of Byala. All 15 crew members, seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis, were rescued by Bulgarian border police and taken to Varna. Bulgarian officials said none was seriously injured, according to Reuters, while Splash247 reported that eight were taken to hospital, three with burns.

Prime Minister Rumen Radev called the attacks “absolutely unacceptable, another attack in the immediate vicinity of Bulgarian territorial waters,” in a televised address. He said Bulgaria would summon Russia’s ambassador and seek assistance from NATO and the European Union. Sofia stopped short of directly accusing Russia of carrying out the attacks, but Radev said their outcome “benefits the Russian Federation.” There was no immediate comment from Moscow.

Condemnation from Brussels and Kyiv

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X that “The Black Sea has become another front of escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine,” adding that “Those responsible should be held accountable.” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the strike “once again demonstrates Moscow’s deliberate disregard for civilian lives.” He said Russia was attacking the Black Sea “to weaponise hunger and hold the world hostage,” describing the sea as “a lifeline for global food security.”

Shipping under fire for a second week

The attacks came exactly a week after two other merchant ships were attacked in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, an incident in which nine Syrian sailors and one Egyptian were lost at sea, according to Reuters. Those attacks followed the sinking of the Royad Mammadov off Romania, which killed two people. Earlier this month, Moscow claimed strikes against four cargo vessels in the northwestern Black Sea, while a separate attack on a Liberian-flagged ship at an Odesa-region port killed another seafarer. Black Sea wheat loadings fell to 1.6 million tonnes in September, down nearly 78 percent from a year earlier, as attacks disrupt one of the world’s major grain export routes.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and Splash247.