Drones strike container ship off Bulgaria, NATO allies condemn attacks on Black Sea shipping

Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov told reporters the attack occurred around 1 p.m. local time approximately 21 nautical miles southeast of the town of Shabla. The 14 Filipino and four Ukrainian crew members evacuated the vessel and were taken on board Bulgarian Navy and border police rescue vessels, and were being transported to the port city of Varna for medical checks. The ship had been sailing from Israel's port of Haifa to Constanta in Romania.

The attack took place as the defense ministers of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey met in Sofia for trilateral talks focused on Black Sea security. The three NATO members issued a statement strongly condemning the drone attacks on commercial vessels and calling for an "immediate cessation of attacks that threaten commercial ships, maritime infrastructure and the safety of maritime activities." They agreed to strengthen intelligence sharing, early warning capabilities and coordination in the region.

A series of drone attacks have occurred this month off the coasts of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria. The strikes have left two people dead and at least 25 more missing. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev told Parliament earlier this month that "the logic points in that direction … The problem is that we cannot prove it." Russia has not taken responsibility for the attacks, but suspicion has fallen on Moscow. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in a post on X last week that the alliance had "strengthened our posture along the eastern flank including with increasing counter-drone capabilities."

The recent attacks follow a pattern. In early October, two commercial ships were struck in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. The Guinea-Bissau-flagged HS Dignity sank after being hit east of Shabla, and the Malta-flagged Chelsea 3 was damaged in a separate attack east of Byala. On October 23, a foreign-flagged cargo ship capsized and sank following a suspected drone strike off the Romanian port city of Constanta.

The attacks threaten a global shipping route. Throughout the war, Russia has repeatedly bombarded Ukraine's Black Sea and Danube River ports, leaving Kyiv increasingly dependent on alternative routes to export grain to markets in Africa and the Middle East. Russian drones have repeatedly violated Romanian airspace near Ukraine's Danube ports.