Two ships hit by drones off Bulgarian coast in Black Sea

Two ships were hit by drones in the Black Sea and one sank on Tuesday, Euronews reported. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the incident occurred approximately 24 kilometres off the coast of Bulgaria. Euronews noted that Radev provided no immediate details about the origins of the drones, the registry of the ships, or what cargo they carried. [1]

In response to the incident, Bulgaria requested assistance from the European Union and NATO to clarify and investigate the drone attacks, according to reporting by Anadolu Ajansi, Democrata, and Operativ Malumat Markazi. Novinite.com additionally reported that Bulgaria intends to seek action from the European Union to protect shipping lanes across the region. [3][5][6][7]

Bulgarian authorities have also moved to increase monitoring along their maritime borders. BNR Novini reported that Bulgaria has stepped up surveillance operations across the Black Sea. [4]

The Black Sea is bordered by six nations, including Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. As FTMQ News reported earlier, a Turkish-owned vessel carrying corn sank in the Black Sea after a Russian drone attack on October 5, which killed two crew members and left 11 others rescued by Romanian authorities. [8][9]