Drones hit two ships off Bulgaria, one sinks

Two ships were hit by drones off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast early on Tuesday and one of them sank, the second such attack in a week, with the Ukrainian-owned Chelsea 3 damaged about 18 nautical miles offshore and all 15 of its crew rescued.

Why it matters: A second sinking in seven days in the waters of a NATO member extends the Black Sea shipping threat beyond Ukraine's coast, and Sofia is now pulling NATO and the Russian ambassador into the response.

Data as of Early Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Al Jazeera report opened and read in full; Reuters reporting from Sofia (Lefkowitz and Sekularac) read via republication; BTA detail via SNM. All accounts rest on Prime Minister Rumen Radev's televised statement. Radev said there is no clear evidence of who carried out the attack; his suggestion that the outcome benefits Russia, and Ukraine's foreign minister blaming Russia, are those parties' claims and are unconfirmed. The sunken vessel has not been named and the status of any crew beyond the one rescued member is not yet reported.

Drones hit two merchant ships off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast in the early hours of Tuesday and one of them sank, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said, in the second such attack in a week. The Ukrainian-owned, Maltese-flagged Chelsea 3 was struck by three drones about 18 nautical miles east of Byala at around 1:30 a.m. local time, and Bulgarian border police rescued all 15 crew, seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis, five of whom received medical treatment for minor injuries; a second ship, hit about 17 nautical miles east of Krapets, sank, and one of its crew members was rescued.

Radev called the attack absolutely unacceptable, said he would speak with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and said he would summon the Russian ambassador, while stating plainly that there is no clear evidence of who carried out the attack. The incident follows the October 6 attack in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, in which a Togo-flagged ship sank and its crew went missing, and it lands on the western Black Sea routes that carry Ukrainian grain and regional trade past NATO’s southeastern flank.

Drones hit two ships off Bulgaria, one sinks

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