Unknown Drones Attack Merchant Ships Off Bulgaria; One Sinks

Unidentified aerial and surface drones attacked two merchant vessels within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea.

According to Maritime.bg, the incident occurred about 80 nautical miles east of the town of Byala, near Cape St. Atanas.

The vessel ALFA WATAN (IMO 7510884), flying the Togolese flag, was attacked while sailing from El Arish, Egypt, to Sulina, Romania.

The vessel ABLE (IMO 9001136), flying the Palau flag, was also attacked while sailing from Galati, Romania, to Istanbul, Türkiye.

ALFA WATAN sustained critical hull damage and sank. No information is currently available about the fate of its crew.

A fire broke out aboard ABLE following the attack, forcing all 18 crew members to abandon the vessel.

The Bulgarian ferry DIOSCURIA rescued all the sailors after being dispatched to the scene to carry out the operation.

Some of those rescued were injured. They received first aid aboard the DIOSCURIA, after which Bulgarian rescue services began arranging their medical evacuation ashore.

According to Maritime.bg, this is the first known attack on merchant vessels in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.

In connection with the incident, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev convened an emergency meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Transport, security services, and other government agencies.

Militarnyi previously reported that the Turkish bulk carrier Royad Mammadov sank in the Black Sea following a strike by Russian drones. The vessel was sailing from Ukraine to Italy carrying grain.