Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said three sea drones struck the ship off Bulgaria on 28 October. Bulgarian authorities confirmed its sinking after the crew’s rescue.
All 18 sailors aboard the Contship Jet were rescued after a drone attack off Bulgaria on 28 October. BTA, the state news agency, said Bulgarian Navy and border-police rescue vessels took aboard the evacuated crew, as described in Fortune’s October 29 account. The crew included 14 Filipinos and four Ukrainians and was being transported to Varna for medical checks.
The attack followed earlier October incidents in the same waters: the HS Dignity sank off Shabla, and the Chelsea 3 was damaged in a separate attack off Byala.
Fortune reported that on 23 October, a foreign-flagged cargo ship capsized and sank after a suspected drone strike about 13 nautical miles off Constanța, Romania. Repeated Russian bombardment of Ukraine’s Black Sea and Danube ports has increased Ukraine’s reliance on alternative routes for grain exports to Africa and the Middle East; attacks in Bulgarian and Romanian exclusive economic zones threaten a global shipping route. On 15 October, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said NATO had strengthened its eastern-flank posture, including counter-drone capabilities, amid increasingly frequent strikes on commercial vessels.
Bulgaria’s Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said three maritime drones—unmanned vessels operating on the water—struck the Liberian-flagged container ship shortly before 13:00 local time (15:00 Yerevan time). He placed the attack about 21 nautical miles southeast of Shabla, near Cape Kaliakra.
The ship, managed by Contships Management, was sailing from Haifa in Israel to Constanța in Romania. It carried 421 containers, whose contents were not immediately clear.
Responsibility for the Contship Jet attack remains unestablished. Earlier in October, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev expressed suspicion of Russia over the attacks, telling Parliament that “the logic points in that direction … The problem is that we cannot prove it.” Russia had not taken responsibility.
President Nicusor Dan reports at least one sailor killed and three missing; nine of 13 crew were rescued, as NATO plans to reinforce Black Sea surveillance.
At their October 28 talks in Sofia, the defense ministers of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey condemned attacks on commercial vessels and called for them to stop immediately. They agreed to strengthen intelligence sharing, early warning and coordination in the Black Sea.
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Attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea preceded the reversal, which DW reports puts Bulgaria on course to join an initiative it had initially rejected.
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All Yara J crew members were rescued after a strike inside Romania’s territorial waters. Romanian authorities are searching for seven sailors from Wine Trader, struck one mile outside those waters.
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