Military Personnel Inspected Ship "Able," Which Had Been Carrying Wheat; No Drone Debris Found

No drone debris was found aboard the attacked vessel Able, military personnel said at a briefing following a detailed inspection of the ship.

The cargo being carried was wheat.

The two commercial vessels were attacked in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone on the night of 6 October.

Lieutenant Colonel Plamen Donchev, Deputy Commander of the 24th Air Base: “The mission was to deploy two service personnel to inspect the vessel. This was the main task, given the need for a detailed examination.”

No drone debris was found.

The inspection of the vessel lasted more than 30 minutes.

Senior Sergeant Ivan Katsarov, Senior Paratrooper and Rescuer: “We were deployed to check for drone debris, collect any fragments and photograph them, but we found none. Everything has been burnt. We went inside and everything was burned out. We checked the cargo – wheat.”

Velislav Yarukov, Search and Rescue Specialist at the 24th Air Base: “We have recordings of the entire inspection of the vessel. The fire caused extensive damage. The crew used the emergency and rescue equipment available on board to evacuate and save themselves, and there are no traces of anything left on the vessel.”

The Bulgarian Navy commented on the possibility of 'Able' sinking.

“No one can say whether it will sink. There is a breach in the stern, but the vessel is currently in a stable condition. There is no spill. It is 40 nautical miles off our coast, and we are monitoring the situation.”

Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov denied meeting Kyrylo Budanov, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“As far as I know, such a meeting took place only with the Prime Minister,” Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said.

The minister said that no drone fragments had been identified that could help establish its origin.

“I do not think it is appropriate to speculate when national security is at stake.”

“The war is continuing at full intensity. Until recently, Russian forces were mainly striking Black Sea ports, including Chornomorsk and Odesa, but now the war is spreading in every direction. I do not think it would be right to accuse either side. The drone could have been Ukrainian or Russian. From the helicopter, we saw that the vessel had been hit by a surface drone, and the engine room was completely flooded,” the defence minister explained.

The minister said that no one could guarantee 100% protection through the use of anti-drone systems.

“What the Bulgarian Armed Forces are doing at present is providing protection for specific sites, which is also the purpose of our defensive measures.”

Earlier today, October 9, the Ministry of Defence said that the 'Verny' frigate, part of the Bulgarian Navy, had again headed towards the area where two commercial vessels were attacked by drones in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea.

Two ships were attacked by sea and aerial drones in the Black Sea on the night of 6 October. The following day, the Consultative Council for National Security met, with its members calling for an immediate investigation to establish who was responsible for the attacks on the two ships.

Exclusive to BNT: Krumovo Air Base helicopter crew speaks about the Black Sea search-and-rescue mission

One of the vessels, sailing under the flag of Togo, sank. The second attacked ship was damaged and caught fire. Its crew was evacuated. However, there is still no trace of the sailors from the sunken vessel. On Wednesday, Rumen Nikolov, Director of Emergency and Rescue Activities at the Executive Agency Maritime Administration, said that no crew members from the sunken ship had been found and that the search-and-rescue operation had been called off.