Two Ships Hit by Drones in Bulgarian Waters; One of Them Sank

Two ships were attacked by drones in the Black Sea within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. One of the vessels has sunk, while the crew of the other will be taken to medical facilities in Varna. The incident occure at around 3 am this morning, October 6. The first alert was sent by an emergency buoy. A connection was immediately established with the crew of the motor vessel ABLE, where a serious fire had broken out.

All 18 crew members were rescued. One suffered serious burns, another sustained a head injury, while others suffered less serious injuries. They were initially taken aboard the Bulgarian-flagged ro-ro/passenger vessel DIOSCURIA. They were later transferred to a Bulgarian Navy patrol boat and a Border Police vessel. The sailors are being taken to Varna and are expected to arrive after 12 hours.

The vessel ALFA WATAN suffered critical structural damage and sank east of the Bulgarian coast. No crew members have been found. According to preliminary information published by Maritime.bg, the vessels attacked were general cargo ships – ALFA WATAN was sailing under the Togo flag, while ABLE was flying the flag of Palau.

Authorities are working to establish whose drones attacked the vessels. The Ministry of Transport said there was no new information at present, with a briefing expected later today.

In connection with the incident, Prime Minister Rumen Radev is convening a meeting with representatives of the relevant institutions.