Drone Strikes on Two Merchant Ships in Black Sea Leave One Sunk and Crew Missing as Bulgaria Launches Rescue Operation

Bulgarian authorities have launched a large-scale search and rescue operation in the Black Sea after drone attacks struck two commercial vessels early Tuesday, sinking one ship and leaving its crew unaccounted for while injuring several sailors aboard a second vessel, according to Prime Minister Rumen Radev.

The strikes occurred at approximately 3am local time, roughly 70 nautical miles, or about 130 kilometers, off Bulgaria's coastline, within the country's exclusive economic zone. Radev, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, condemned the assault in forceful terms, describing it as "absolutely unacceptable" and characterizing it as a clear breach of both international law and maritime regulations.

The vessel that sank was identified as the Alfa Watan, a ship sailing under the flag of Togo. According to Radev, the ship sustained catastrophic structural damage and went down at the location where it was hit. The prime minister said there was no immediate information available regarding the fate of the crew members, though he did not disclose how many people were believed to be missing. Bulgarian naval and border police units have been mobilized to comb the area for survivors.

The second vessel, the Palau-flagged Able, was struck in the same attack and subsequently caught fire. A Bulgarian ferry and a naval fast boat were dispatched to the scene and successfully evacuated all 18 crew members from the burning ship. Two of the sailors sustained serious injuries and were airlifted to a hospital in the coastal city of Varna for emergency medical treatment. The remaining crew members were reported to be safe following the rescue operation.

Details regarding the cargo carried by the vessels have begun to emerge. Reports indicate that the Able was transporting wheat and was traveling in a southerly direction at the time of the attack. The Alfa Watan, by contrast, was heading north when it was struck. Radev stated that the cargo aboard the sunken vessel remained unknown, adding that authorities were closely monitoring the area for potential oil spills and other environmental hazards that could arise from the sinking.

The origin of the drones responsible for the dual strike has not been definitively established. However, the attack comes just one day after a separate incident off the coast of Romania, in which another ship caught fire and sank, resulting in one death and one person missing. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attributed that earlier attack to Russia, describing it as "a horrific strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel" that occurred in neutral waters. The timing and similarity of the two incidents have raised concerns that a coordinated campaign against commercial shipping in the region may be underway.

Radev emphasized that the attacks are having a destabilizing effect on maritime commerce throughout the Black Sea region. He noted that the security situation is seriously disrupting shipping operations, driving insurance premiums even higher, and making the movement of goods increasingly difficult and risky for commercial operators. The prime minister made these remarks following an emergency meeting convened on Tuesday to assess the situation and coordinate Bulgaria's response.

The Black Sea has become an increasingly dangerous corridor for commercial shipping since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, with drone attacks on vessels becoming more frequent in recent months. The expansion of drone warfare into international waters and the exclusive economic zones of neutral countries represents a significant escalation that threatens to draw more nations into the broader conflict. Radev warned that the war is expanding geographically and cautioned that this trend is increasing the risk of a wider global confrontation.

The attack has prompted expressions of solidarity from neighboring countries. Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar stated that Budapest "stands in full solidarity with Bulgaria" following the strikes on the two ships, signaling growing concern among European nations about the spillover effects of the conflict into their territorial waters and economic zones.

The international legal implications of the attack are significant. Targeting commercial vessels in a nation's exclusive economic zone during peacetime or in the absence of a declared state of war raises serious questions under maritime law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which guarantees freedom of navigation and protects civilian shipping. Bulgaria, as a NATO member state, may now face pressure to invoke alliance consultations if the attack is determined to have originated from a hostile state actor.

The search for the missing crew members from the Alfa Watan continues, with Bulgarian authorities deploying vessels and aircraft to scour the waters where the ship went down. The condition of any potential survivors remains unknown, and the window for rescue operations in the cold waters of the Black Sea is limited. The international community will be watching closely as Bulgaria investigates the attack and determines its response to what many see as a dangerous new phase in the ongoing conflict.