In brief
In the early hours of Tuesday, Bulgarian coastguard personnel discovered a merchant ship flying the Togo flag had sunk after a drone attack 70 miles off Byala. A second grain vessel, also struck within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, suffered crew injuries from a fire but was rescued. Prime Minister Rumen Radev condemned the attacks as a flagrant violation of maritime law yet offered no attribution. The incidents occur in the context of intensified Russian strikes on the Black Sea amid the war in Ukraine. Tote coal and grain movements face increasing peril as maritime security is challenged.
Two injured crew members were transferred for treatment after the attack.
In the early hours of Tuesday, a Bulgarian coastguard patrol discovered a merchant ship, under the flag of Togo, had sunk after a drone strike 70 miles off the eastern town of Byala. All 23 crew members are missing and a search operation has been launched.
A second vessel, a grain carrier with an 18‑member crew—comprising 11 Turkish and seven Indian nationals—was also hit within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. Bulgarian sailors rescued the crew, two of whom sustained injuries from a fire aboard the ship.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev condemned the strikes as a "flagrant violation of maritime law" and demanded an explanation for the attacks, yet he did not point to Russia amid mounting tensions in the Black Sea.
Russia’s Defence Ministry, in a statement the day before, pledged to intensify its offensive after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky threatened to target Russian oil refineries. Moscow has yet to comment on the current incident.
The attacks come on the heels of a Tuesday incident near Odesa that killed a crew member and wounded seven others, further highlighting the volatility of maritime routes in the region.
Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone covers roughly 29,000 square kilometres, or about 6% of the Black Sea, making these assaults a direct challenge to the safety and security of commercial shipping in the area.
