Two Commercial Ships Hit by Drones off Bulgaria
Two commercial vessels were struck by drones off Bulgaria, with one sinking and the crew of the other forced to abandon ship after a fire broke out.
Two commercial vessels were struck by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) off the coast of Bulgaria. One of the vessels sank following the attacks. The Bulgarian government decided to hold an emergency meeting after the incident.
According to information reported by Bulgaria’s public broadcaster BNR, citing Rumen Nikolov, who is in charge of the rescue operation in Varna, contact with the crew of the sunken vessel could not be established. The crew of the other vessel was rescued.
Bulgarian maritime news website Maritime.bg reported that the vessels were the Togo-flagged Alfa Watan and the Palau-flagged Able. According to the report, Alfa Watan sank following the attack.
The 18-member crew of the Able abandoned the vessel after a fire broke out on board. The crew was taken aboard the Bulgarian-flagged Dioscuria ferry. Some members of the crew were reported to have been injured.
It has not yet been determined where the unmanned aerial vehicles used in the attack were launched from.
