A drone attack in the Black Sea: a ship flying the Togolese flag sank, another caught fire; Bulgaria convenes an emergency meeting
A groundbreaking drone attack struck two commercial ships in the Black Sea near Bulgaria's coast today (Tuesday), sinking one of them. The incident is defined as the first-ever attack on shipping lanes in the exclusive economic zone of a NATO member state. The sunken ship, 'Alfa Watan', was sailing under the Togolese flag en route to the port of Sulina in Romania. Its crew is missing. A fire broke out on the second ship, 'Able', following the hit; 18 crew members abandoned ship and were rescued, some injured, onto a Bulgarian ferry. The Bulgarian government announced an urgent emergency meeting, at the start of which Prime Minister Rumen Radev will deliver a special statement to the media. The source of the unmanned aerial vehicles has not yet been determined, and no one has claimed responsibility for the double attack. The incident comes about a day after another serious incident in the Black Sea, where a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying grain was attacked by at least one drone, caught fire, and sank. The series of attacks raises serious concerns among regional states and NATO officials about a significant escalation and the expansion of threats to international trade routes in the Black Sea.
A groundbreaking drone attack struck two commercial ships in the Black Sea near Bulgaria's coast today (Tuesday), sinking one of them. The incident is defined as the first-ever attack on shipping lanes in the exclusive economic zone of a NATO member state. The sunken ship, 'Alfa Watan', was sailing under the Togolese flag and was en route to the port of Sulina in Romania. The crew of the sunken vessel is missing. A fire broke out on the second ship, 'Able', following the hit; 18 crew members abandoned the vessel and were rescued, some injured, onto a Bulgarian ferry. The Bulgarian government announced the convening of an urgent emergency meeting, at the start of which Prime Minister Rumen Radev will deliver a special statement to the media. The source of the unmanned aerial vehicles has not yet been determined, and no one has claimed responsibility for the double attack. The incident comes about a day after another serious incident in the Black Sea, where a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying grain was attacked by at least one drone, caught fire, and sank. The series of attacks raises serious concerns among regional states and NATO officials about a significant escalation and the expansion of threats to international trade routes in the Black Sea.