Sea drones struck a container ship off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast yesterday, the ship’s owner and the government said, the latest in a string of attacks that have raised concerns about the growing scope of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
It was not clear who carried out the attack on the Greek ship that was sailing under the Liberian flag in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), or what the vessel’s 421 containers were carrying.
“A container ship was hit...with three naval drones, approximately 21 miles southeast of Shabla,” Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov told reporters on the sidelines of a regional security meeting.
Bulgaria’s transport ministry said in a statement that four naval and police boats had been dispatched to assist the vessel, which was travelling from the Israeli port of Haifa to Romania, and that the 18 crew members had been evacuated.
The ship’s owner, Contships Management, confirmed the attack and a company official said all the crew of 14 Filipinos and 4 Ukrainians, were safe and ashore.
A maritime security source with knowledge of the matter said the ship had been badly damaged and was listing.
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