Container Ship Struck by Three Naval Drones Sinks in Black Sea
The Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged Contship Jet sank after being hit by three naval drones off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, as footage of the attack emerged.
Bulgarian authorities reported that the Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged container ship Contship Jet, which was damaged in an attack carried out by three naval drones off the country’s Black Sea coast the previous day, has sunk.
According to reports in the Bulgarian media, some of the containers on board carried lithium-ion batteries, flammable liquids, gases and other hazardous materials. After collecting samples from several locations in Bulgarian territorial waters, naval teams reported that no signs of pollution had been detected.
In a statement to the press, Bulgarian Navy Commander Kiril Mihaylov said that French maritime patrol aircraft operating in the area had warned authorities about a possible attack, but noted that they had been unable to prevent it.
Footage of the attack was also shared on social media. In their assessment of the images, officials from British maritime security company Ambrey suggested that the drones used in the attack were a variant of Russia’s Murena-300S naval drones. Moscow, which regional countries accuse of endangering maritime activities in the Black Sea, denies responsibility for the recent attacks in the region.
Bulgarian Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said the previous day that the container ship had been attacked off the Black Sea coast, stating: “A container ship was hit by three naval drones approximately 21 nautical miles southeast of Shabla.”
The Greek-operated container ship was sailing from Israel’s Port of Haifa to Romania’s Port of Constanța. All 18 crew members, including 14 Filipinos and four Ukrainians, were rescued by vessels belonging to the Bulgarian Navy and Border Police.
