Second Ship Attack in a Week in the Black Sea: Drones Hit Two Cargo Vessels off Bulgaria, One Sinks and 11 Sailors Are Missing
SOFIA, Oct. 13 — Bulgarian officials confirmed on Oct. 13 that two merchant vessels were attacked by drones off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast during the night of Oct. 12–13. One ship sank and 11 sailors were missing, with search-and-rescue work still under way on Tuesday afternoon. It was the second attack on shipping in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone within a week; on Oct. 6 two cargo ships were hit in the same waters and one of them sank.
The sunken vessel was the Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo ship HS Dignity. Bulgaria's Interior Ministry told reporters the ship went down about 15 to 17 nautical miles east of the village of Krapets, near the Romanian border, while sailing part-loaded toward the Romanian port of Braila. Five of its 16 crew members were rescued by other merchant vessels; the remaining 11, believed to be Syrian and Egyptian nationals, were missing.
The second vessel attacked was the Malta-flagged, Ukrainian-owned Chelsea 3. Bulgarian officials said it was struck by three drones about 18 nautical miles east of Byala. All 15 crew members — seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis — were rescued and taken to the port of Varna, where several received treatment for injuries; none was seriously hurt. A distress call from the Byala area was received at about 1:30 a.m. local time.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev convened a security council meeting on Oct. 13 and described the attack as absolutely unacceptable. He said Bulgaria had no clear and conclusive evidence identifying who carried out the strikes, but that the outcome benefited the Russian Federation. Bulgaria summoned Russia's ambassador, Eleonora Mitrofanova, and sought NATO and EU assistance in determining the drones' origin. According to the Bulgarian government, the ambassador said she had no information from Moscow and raised the possibility of a third-party provocation. Radev also spoke with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who condemned the attacks.
The Black Sea is a key export route for Ukrainian and Russian grain and other bulk goods, and attacks on merchant shipping there have multiplied since the summer. In the Oct. 6 attack, a cargo ship sank inside Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone and nine Syrian sailors and one Egyptian sailor were lost. Bulgarian officials said the search for HS Dignity's missing crew continued on Tuesday afternoon, and no party had been confirmed as responsible for the latest strikes.
Sources: Statements by Bulgaria's Interior Ministry and the prime minister's office, as reported and cross-checked by Reuters, the Associated Press and CNN on Oct. 13.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 保加利亚瓦尔纳港散货船实景（黑海港口，非涉事船只），CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）
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