- WIADOMOŚCI
More ships were attacked near the Bulgarian coast. What about the crew?
On the night of 12-13 October 2026, further drone attacks were carried out against civilian merchant vessels in the Black Sea near the Bulgarian coast. According to official reports, one ship was damaged, and another – according to information provided by Prime Minister Rumen Radev – sank.
The main confirmed incident involved the Maltese freighter Chelsea 3. The vessel was en route from the Turkish port of Giresun to Giurgiulesti in Moldova. The ship is owned and managed by Ukrainian companies (Black Sea Shipping Management from Odesa). Between approximately 01:30 and 02:00 local time, the vessel was attacked by three aerial drones, which struck the deck and the hull. The ship remained afloat, albeit with a slight list. The crew of 15 – consisting of seven Ukrainian citizens and eight Azerbaijani citizens – was fully evacuated by units of the Bulgarian Border Guard and transported to Varna.
During an extraordinary meeting of the Security Council at the Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Rumen Radev reported on the second incident. Another vessel was hit approximately 17 nautical miles east of the town of Krapets (north-eastern Bulgaria). According to currently available data, the ship sank. At least one person from the crew has been rescued. Details regarding the vessel’s name, flag, cargo, and full crew complement have not yet been officially released.
A similar attack occurred on 6 October, when two merchant ships were hit by drones in the Bulgarian Exclusive Economic Zone in the Black Sea.
