Bulgaria Mounts Rescue Operation After Drones Strike Two Ships in Black Sea

Jerusalem, 6 October, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Sofia (BTA) – Bulgaria is conducting a rescue operation some 70 nautical miles east of the coastal town of Byala, in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said here on Tuesday. Two merchant ships were attacked by sea and aerial drones at around 3:00 a.m., he said. Both ships sustained damage and one has sunk.

“This is an absolutely unacceptable attack in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. It is an absolutely blatant violation of international law and maritime law,” Radev said.

Approached by reporters later in the day, Radev said it is not clear where the drones came from and the Bulgarian authorities will try to establish that, “but they were clearly either Russian or Ukrainian”.

The first ship, sailing under the Togolese flag, has sunk. The second vessel caught fire after being struck, but its crew was evacuated and rescued by a Bulgarian vessel, Radev said.

According to the Defence Ministry Information Centre, it was Palau-flagged.

According to the information available to the authorities, the second ship was carrying wheat and was sailing south, while the first ship, which sank, was sailing north. The cargo of the first vessel was not known, Radev said.

The authorities are also monitoring for possible oil spills and environmental pollution.

The operation is still underway, with rescuers searching for survivors from the first vessel, the Prime Minister said.

At the time of the attack, the Bulgarian Ro-Ro vessel DIOSCURIA was in the area. Its crew saw the explosion involving the first ship and headed to the site. They found an overturned boat, three overturned rafts and life jackets, but no people. The crew of the sunken vessel remains unaccounted for, Radev said.

The DIOSCURIA also approached the second vessel and assisted in the rescue operation. A fast craft from the Bulgarian Navy was dispatched and managed to take two injured crew members aboard.

One of the injured men had suffered burns and the other had a head injury. They were taken aboard the naval vessel and were expected to arrive at the port of Varna, where medical teams from the Naval Hospital in Varna had been mobilized to provide the necessary medical assistance.

The remaining 16 crew members were being transported by a border police patrol boat. According to the information provided by Radev, 11 of the crew members are Turkish nationals and seven are Indian nationals.

The Bulgarian Defence Ministry identified the cargo ships as the Togolese-flagged Alfa Watan and the Palau-flagged Able.