Drones hit four merchant ships in Bulgaria's Black Sea EEZ, sinking two (6–13 Oct)

At about 03:00 on 6 October 2026 sea and aerial drones hit two Turkish-owned cargo ships about 70 nautical miles off Bulgaria's coast, in its exclusive economic zone. The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan sank and its 10 crew (nine Syrians, one Egyptian) were not found; all 18 crew of the Palau-flagged Able were evacuated, two of them injured. Early on 13 October the Maltese-flagged, Ukrainian-owned Chelsea 3 was hit by three drones about 18 nautical miles off the coast and its 15 crew were rescued, and the Guinea-Bissau-flagged HS Dignity sank off Krapets; five crew were rescued and 11 were reported missing. Bulgaria summoned Russia's ambassador on 13 October, and on 16 October it asked NATO for aircraft and counter-drone systems.

Established by. PM Rumen Radev (6 Oct): 'This is an unacceptable attack in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone'; he said it was too soon to say which country the drones came from (AP, Reuters via CP24). On 13 Oct he said there was no clear evidence of who carried out the attack but that the outcome 'benefits the Russian Federation', and he summoned Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova. According to the Bulgarian government, she said she had no information from the Russian MoD and did not rule out a third-party provocation (Reuters via Daily Sabah). Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov told parliament on 13 Oct that his assessment was that the drones were Russian, but that Sofia had no direct evidence (Echo, citing Bulgarian media). Russia's embassy said the 6 Oct ships 'were not on the Ministry of Defense's target list' (Reuters via Maritime Executive). Ukraine said the 6 Oct attack was a combined Russian sea and air drone strike. No Bulgarian, NATO or EU text formally attributes the strikes to Russia.

Latest. On 20 October 2026, after NATO ambassadors discussed Bulgaria's request, NATO said it would send "additional assets" to the Black Sea — maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems, explosive exploitation teams, intelligence personnel and drones (SHAPE spokesperson Col. Martin O'Donnell, AFP). Prime Minister Rumen Radev said a US P-8 Poseidon had begun patrolling the Black Sea. Bulgaria has not formally named Russia. Bulgaria halted the Alfa Watan search on 7 Oct, and Syria has asked the IMO and Bulgaria for an independent inquiry.

Link to the war against Ukraine. The strikes hit merchant shipping using the western Black Sea corridor, including a Ukrainian-owned vessel, during a wave of attacks on Ukraine-linked shipping off Romania and Bulgaria.