Three sea drones struck a cargo ship off the coast of Bulgaria
In the Black Sea, near the coast of Bulgaria, the Greek container ship Contship Jet was damaged as a result of an attack by three sea drones. The Bulgarian Naval Forces evacuated all 18 crew members on board.
Three sea drones hit a cargo ship near the Bulgarian coast
According to DW, Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov announced at a briefing on October 28 that the attack took place in the country's exclusive economic zone.
The Liberia-flagged vessel was struck by three unmanned surface vehicles approximately 21 nautical miles — nearly 39 kilometers — southeast of the town of Shabla.
A French aircraft reported the drones.
According to the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense, the Contship Jet was en route to the Romanian port of Constanța. Meanwhile, Bulgarian radio reported that the ship had departed from the Israeli port of Haifa.
Information regarding the sighting of sea drones came from a French maritime patrol aircraft flying over the western part of the Black Sea.
Following this, the Bulgarian Navy conducted a rescue operation and evacuated all 18 people from the ship. It is currently unknown who is responsible for the attack.
Representatives of three countries met urgently in Sofia
On October 28, an urgent meeting of the defense ministers and chiefs of staff of Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey was held in Sofia. It discussed the safety of civilian shipping in the Black Sea.
According to DW, at least six merchant ships have been attacked near the Bulgarian coast in recent weeks.
Ukraine blames Russia for these attacks. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev stated that they apparently serve Russian interests. Russian officials deny accusations of involvement in the attacks.