The Black Sea has witnessed another dangerous escalation involving civilian shipping, this time inside Bulgaria’s Exclusive Economic Zone, where drones
struck two commercial vessels and sank one of them. The attacks took place early Tuesday roughly 80 nautical miles off the Bulgarian coast, east of Cape St Athanasius and the town of Byala. Bulgaria’s authorities launched a large-scale search-and-rescue operation after the strikes, while Prime Minister Rumen Radev called an emergency meeting with senior defence, interior and security officials. The identity of whoever launched the drones remains unknown. One ship sinks, second catches fire The vessels targeted were identified as the Alfa Watan, sailing under the Togo flag, and the Able, registered in Palau. The Alfa Watan suffered critical damage and sank in the Black Sea. Information on its crew initially remained unclear, prompting an ongoing search for survivors. Bulgarian authorities and rescue teams continued operations in the area as officials tried to establish what happened to those aboard the vessel. The Able suffered a major fire after being struck. Its entire crew of 18 abandoned the ship and was rescued by the Bulgarian ferry Dioscuria. Bulgarian reports said some of the sailors were injured, with two later reported to have suffered serious injuries and requiring medical evacuation to Varna. The incident is being treated as a major maritime security emergency because the vessels were attacked within Bulgaria’s economic zone. Local reporting described it as the first reported drone attack on commercial shipping in the country’s Black Sea EEZ.
Radev calls emergency meeting
Radev was scheduled to address the situation at the start of an emergency meeting bringing together representatives of Bulgaria’s key state institutions. The meeting comes as the country faces growing concerns over the spillover of the Russia-Ukraine war into Black Sea commercial shipping routes. Bulgaria is a NATO member, and attacks involving civilian vessels close to its coastline raise broader questions about maritime security even though the strikes occurred outside its territorial waters.
For now, however, Bulgarian authorities have not attributed the attack to Russia, Ukraine or any other actor. The origin of the drones and the circumstances surrounding the strikes remain under investigation.
Another Black Sea ship attacked
The Bulgarian incident came only a day after another commercial vessel was attacked in the Black Sea near Romania. The Turkish-owned Royad Mammadov, carrying grain, caught fire and later sank. Two people were reported killed and 11 rescued. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russian drones for that attack, while Romanian authorities had not independently confirmed the cause of the fire.
Taken together, the incidents underline the growing risks facing civilian shipping in the Black Sea, where commercial vessels continue to operate close to an active war zone. For Bulgaria, Tuesday’s strikes bring that threat considerably closer to home. The immediate priority remains the search for the missing crew and investigation into the attacks. The larger question — who launched the drones and why these ships were targeted — remains unanswered.
