Eleven sailors are missing after drone strikes hit two cargo ships off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast on Tuesday, 13 October, sinking one vessel and damaging another. The attacks have prompted Bulgaria to summon Russia’s ambassador and seek assistance from NATO and the European Union as concerns grow over the safety of commercial shipping in the region.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev condemned the strikes, which occurred near the country’s territorial waters, and called an emergency meeting with security officials. Authorities launched search and rescue operations for the missing crew members while investigating the circumstances surrounding the attacks.
Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova identified the sunken vessel as the HS Dignity, a cargo ship flying the flag of Guinea-Bissau. The ship went down approximately 31 kilometres east of the coastal village of Krapets. According to Reuters, five crew members had been rescued by Tuesday, while 11 remained missing. Initial reports gave a lower number of survivors as rescue operations continued.
The second vessel, the Chelsea 3, was struck by three drones at around 1.30am local time, approximately 33 kilometres off the coastal town of Byala. The Ukrainian-owned cargo ship, which was flying the Maltese flag and registered in Odesa, Ukraine, was travelling from Turkey to Moldova when the attack occurred.
All 15 crew members aboard the Chelsea 3 were rescued by Bulgarian border authorities and taken to the coastal city of Varna. The crew comprised seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis, five of whom received medical treatment for minor injuries.
“This is absolutely unacceptable, another attack in the immediate vicinity of Bulgarian territorial waters,” Radev said in a televised address.
Bulgarian authorities have not established who launched the drones. Radev said there was no conclusive evidence identifying those responsible, although he argued that Russia stood to benefit from the attacks. The government subsequently summoned Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova to Sofia for discussions.
According to Reuters, Mitrofanova said she had received no information from Russia’s Defence Ministry about attacks on commercial vessels. She also suggested that a third party could have staged the incidents as a provocation, leaving responsibility for the strikes unresolved.
The Bulgarian government has requested assistance from NATO and the European Union to strengthen maritime monitoring, surveillance of the airspace and investigations into the attacks. Radev also discussed the security situation with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Rutte said NATO would continue monitoring developments in the Black Sea and adjust its military presence along the alliance’s eastern flank when necessary. Bulgaria and neighbouring Romania are NATO members, making security incidents near their coastlines a concern for the wider alliance.
Von der Leyen condemned the attacks in a post on X, warning of further escalation in the region. “The Black Sea has become another front of escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine,” she wrote, calling for those responsible to be held accountable.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also accused Moscow of targeting civilian shipping and threatening international food supplies. In a separate post on X, he described the Black Sea as “a lifeline for global food security” and accused Russia of using attacks on commercial vessels to disrupt the movement of food and other goods.
The latest incidents follow drone attacks against commercial ships in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone on 6 October. One of the vessels, the Alfa Watan, sank, leaving 10 sailors, including nine Syrians and one Egyptian, missing and presumed dead. Another ship was damaged, although its crew survived.
The repeated incidents have added to concerns about the risks facing commercial vessels operating in the Black Sea since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Both countries have targeted maritime infrastructure and vessels during the war, although the circumstances and responsibility for the latest attacks remain under investigation.
Russian forces have struck Ukrainian ports and shipping facilities, while Ukraine has attacked Russian vessels and maritime infrastructure in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. These operations have placed additional pressure on commercial shipping routes used to transport grain and other goods from the region.
For Bulgaria, the latest strikes raise immediate questions about maritime safety, the protection of crews and the ability of authorities to respond to attacks near its coastline. With 11 sailors still missing from the HS Dignity and responsibility for the drone strikes not yet established, the investigation and search efforts remain central to the response.
