Bulgarian Navy Rules Out Mines in Fishing Vessel’s Sinking

Jerusalem, 26 February, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Varna (BTA) – On the day of the incident with the sunken fishing vessel, no signals of mine-like objects were received, Bulgarian Navy Rear Admiral Kiril Mihaylov said at a press conference. He was addressing Navy personnel participation in the search, rescue and examination of vessel BH 8112.

He added that last year the Navy received over 20 signals. All of them have been examined.

So far, the Navy has destroyed six floating mines since the start of the war in Ukraine. Last year, two wrecks of naval strike drones, numerous remains of missiles and other ammunition were also destroyed at sea, but a diving inspection of the sunken fishing vessel shows that the hull is intact, Mihaylov explained.

The commander recalled that the Navy is not the institution responsible for organizing search and rescue in the Bulgarian maritime search and rescue area, and the Ministry of Defense and the battle fleet support such actions. He explained that the operation was initiated by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) in Varna. As soon as the information was received, we were asked for assistance and after permission from the Chief of Defense, the frigate “Drazki”, which was currently performing tasks in the Burgas Bay area, was directed to participate in the search and rescue operation, the commander said.

Immediately upon receiving the signal at noon on February 18, the warship began its movement towards the point of sinking of the fishing vessel. Precise instructions were given by the MSCC for the area of ​​investigation, which the warship carried out. Due to heavy snowfall, accompanied by freezing rain, it was not possible to involve a helicopter in the operation, added Mihaylov, specifying that he had ordered the aircraft to be ready for immediate takeoff in case the weather conditions allowed this to happen. According to him, this happened the next day. At night, the frigate “Drazki” remained in the area and continued the search with night vision devices in the suspected area where a life raft with survivors could have been taken. Unfortunately, in this difficult weather, no remains of either the raft or people could be found, the commander said.

Later, after permission from the Chief of Defense, a diving operation was organized to examine the sunken ship, the Rear Admiral said. Based on the data from its last location, a diving group was immediately sent from the Burgas Naval Base, which carried out a first survey with hydroacoustic stations, and the ship was located. Then, diving descents were carried out, since the time was short and visibility in the water below 30 meters was almost zero, it was very difficult to work, but the ship was found , the Navy Commander explained. He added that the battle fleet does not have investigative functions, and its task was to establish the position of the fishing vessel, its condition, and to conduct an inspection in order to be sure of the possible cause after clarifying the circumstances of its sinking.

Kiril Mihaylov also said that it was necessary to send heavy divers from Varna with additional heavier equipment, since the ship sank at a depth of 38 meters and light divers can work there for no more than 10 minutes. To ensure a more thorough inspection, divers with heavy equipment were redeployed, several more examinations were carried out with remotely controlled autonomous devices, numerous diving examinations, which ultimately proved that the ship that sank there was precisely a fishing vessel with the ship number VN-8712, the commander indicated.

He explained that unfortunately it was discovered that the life raft was located on the ship’s deck, it did not open, so the possibility that the sailors were somewhere on a life raft at sea has been eliminated. The examination found that the ship’s hull is intact, the ship is lying slightly on its starboard side, there are no holes, said the rear admiral. He added that rigging equipment and ropes were scattered throughout the vessel, preventing entry into the interior of the ship. The hatches themselves are extremely narrow, even an unequipped person can hardly enter through them, let alone a heavy diver with heavy equipment, said Kiril Mihaylov.

In response to a question, Rear Admiral Mihaylov indicated that he could not say whether there was any point in conducting a new aerial survey of the area. According to him, the temperature of the sea water is currently about six degrees. A person wearing normal clothing in such water can survive for a maximum of a few minutes. So, if people are without special protective clothing or are not in a life raft, as it turned out, the probability of survival is very low, he indicated. According to him, there is no way to enter the interior of the ship and, if one has to penetrate there, most likely the hull will have to be cut or other actions taken.

While the investigation is ongoing, the area where the fishing vessel sank is closed to shipping.