Sara Guglielmetti Overnight, drones struck two merchant ships off the coast of Bulgaria in the Black Sea. The Sofia government announced the incident. One of the ships sank, with its crew currently missing. Details:
Drones hit merchant ships in the Black Sea, destroying two vessels; crew missing
The government in Sofia announced that drones struck two Turkish-owned merchant ships off the coast of Bulgaria in the Black Sea yesterday . One of the ships sank, according to the Bulgarian Maritime Rescue Service. Both merchant ships were also struck by drones in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, according to the government itself, which called an emergency meeting with the heads of the Ministries of Defense, Interior, and Security.
According to Roumen Nikolov, director of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Varna, quoted by public radio station BNR, the crew of the sunken vessel is currently missing, while all 18 crew members of the second vessel have been rescued. The two vessels sent out distress signals around 4:00 a.m. (local time), approximately 80 nautical miles off the Bulgarian coast, east of Cape St. Atanas and the town of Byala.
"Unacceptable attack": the words of the Bulgarian Prime Minister
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said : " This is an absolutely unacceptable attack on Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. It is a serious violation of international law and maritime regulations. What is happening is making navigation in the Black Sea extremely difficult and is further increasing insurance costs. If this war in Ukraine is not ended in time, it will continue to expand and increase the risk of a global conflict." Regarding the ships' cargo, Radev stated that the first was headed north toward Romania, but its cargo was unknown. The second was carrying grain and was headed south.