Key takeaways:
- The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan sank after a drone attack; officials had not established how many people were aboard.
- All 18 crew members of the Palau-flagged Able were rescued, and two were injured.
- Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev condemned the strikes but did not identify who launched the drones.
Bulgarian authorities searched the Black Sea on Tuesday for the crew of a cargo ship that sank after a drone attack, while rescuers brought all 18 people aboard a second stricken vessel to safety.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev said aerial and sea drones hit the two commercial ships in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. He did not identify who launched them. Authorities did not know how many people had been aboard the sunken ship, the Togo-flagged Alfa Watan, or what cargo it carried.
A Bulgarian vessel arriving at the scene found an overturned boat, rafts and life jackets, the BBC reported. Authorities launched a search for the missing crew. Al Jazeera reported that officials were also watching for possible oil spills and other pollution.
The second ship, the Palau-flagged Able, caught fire after it was hit. A Bulgarian ferry and naval fast boat evacuated its crew, according to Al Jazeera. Two sailors were injured and flown to a hospital in Varna, the outlet reported. The BBC said 11 crew members were Turkish and seven were Indian. It described the Able’s cargo as grain; Al Jazeera reported that it was wheat.
Radev called the strikes “a flagrant violation of maritime law.” He told reporters: “Such an attack within the Bulgarian exclusive economic zone is absolutely unacceptable.”
Accounts differed on the ships’ distance from shore and the precise time of the attack. The BBC placed it at about 03:00 local time, or 23:00 GMT, roughly 70 miles (112km) off the Bulgarian coastal town of Byala. Al Jazeera reported about 3am, or 00:00 GMT, roughly 70 nautical miles (130km) off Bulgaria’s coast. The BBC said the Able’s last reported position was five nautical miles (9km) from the Alfa Watan.
The BBC reported that the Turkish-owned Alfa Watan was heading toward Sulina, Romania. Al Jazeera said it was heading north and the Able was sailing south.
The attacks came amid the Russia-Ukraine war and concern about commercial shipping in the Black Sea. Radev did not blame Russia for Tuesday’s strikes. Referring to the war, he warned that if it was not halted, it would “continue to expand its geographical reach and increase risks, including the risk of a global conflict.” He also said the disruption was driving up shipping insurance costs and making voyages more difficult, according to Al Jazeera.
The outlets reported other ship attacks. The BBC said a strike near Odesa on Tuesday killed one crew member and injured seven aboard a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, citing Ukrainian media. Al Jazeera reported that a ship caught fire and sank off Romania’s coast a day before the Bulgarian attacks, killing one person and leaving another missing. It said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed that attack on two Russian drones. Moscow had not commented on the latest strikes, according to the BBC.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X that the exact circumstances of incidents involving commercial ships in the Black Sea were still being established. “Attacks on civilian shipping are unacceptable,” she wrote.
Be First to Comment