SOFIA, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Eleven sailors were missing at sea on Tuesday, after a ship was sunk by a drone attack off the coast of Bulgaria — possibly the second fatal sinking of a cargo ship in the region in a week —, which led Bulgaria to summon the Russian ambassador.
Two cargo ships were hit by drones during the early hours and one of them sank, Bulgarian authorities said. Bulgaria did not explicitly accuse Russia of carrying out the attacks, but Prime Minister Rumen Radev stated that the result “benefits the Russian Federation.”
No immediate comment from Moscow on the incidents.
“This is absolutely unacceptable — another attack near Bulgarian territorial waters,” Radev said in a televised address.
The attacks were also condemned by Ukraine and the EU.
“The Black Sea has become yet another front in the escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine,” said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on X. “Those responsible must be held accountable.”
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, said on X on Tuesday that the attack “demonstrates Moscow’s deliberate disregard for civilian lives.”
In a telephone conversation on Tuesday with von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, Radev asked for their support to bolster his country’s maritime and airspace surveillance, the Bulgarian government said in a statement.
“NATO will continue to adjust its military presence on its eastern flank as necessary,” said Rutte.
MARITIME TRANSPORT IN THE BLACK SEA INVOLVED IN THE WAR
Bulgarian authorities said five crew members were rescued, but 11 remained missing from the vessel that sank off the coast of the village of Krapets. President Iliana Iotova identified the vessel as the cargo ship HS Dignity, flag Guinea-Bissau, and said a search-and-rescue operation was ongoing.
Another ship, the Chelsea 3, sailing under the Maltese flag, was also hit by three drones during the early hours, Bulgarian authorities said. The entire crew of that ship — seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis — was rescued and no one was seriously injured.
A week ago, nine Syrian sailors and one Egyptian disappeared at sea after the sinking of a ship hit by drones in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. Another ship was also struck that night, but the crew was rescued.
