A merchant vessel sank in the Black Sea off Bulgaria when a drone hit a ship with a drone strike, raising fresh worries about growing risks to commercial shipping from a new security threat to the region and to commercial shipping in the Black Sea .
The risk of a ship being attacked and sunk in the Black Sea off Bulgaria, and the risk of commercial shipping in the Black Sea is only getting worse and worse in the region at large.
Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone is now the focal point of rising concern as fears of increasing security risks to commercial shipping in the Black Sea have grown over the past couple of months as the Russia-Ukraine conflict is now the most imminent threat to civilian vessels and maritime safety.
Two commercial ships were targeted by drones on October 6, Bulgarian authorities said. The attacks happened about 70 nautical miles, or about 130 kilometres, from the eastern Bulgarian city of Byala. One of the ships, the Togo-flagged general cargo ship ALFA WATAN, sank after the strike.
A second vessel, the Palau-flagged ABLE, was also hit and damaged. The ship was carrying grain at the time of the attack. Bulgarian authorities said all 18 crew members were rescued, with two of them injured and treated for medical conditions.
The ALFA WATAN case was more serious and its crew were yet to be found and their location was still unknown as search and rescue continued. It has also put the dangers of commercial ships in the Black Sea and around them on the table.
The identity of those behind the drone strikes has not been officially confirmed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of carrying out the attack. Bulgarian officials say there is not enough evidence to say whether the drones were launched by Russia or Ukraine.
The Bulgarian defense minister said investigators would need to get more evidence, including recovered drone wreckage or a formal claim of responsibility, before determining the origin of the weapons involved.
That attack has, however, raised fears of hybrid attacks targeting Russia since Bulgaria is a NATO member and the incident took place in its maritime economic zone.
The Western Black Sea has become increasingly important from both a military and commercial perspective since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The incident is a serious violation of international law, Rumen Radev, Bulgaria’s prime minister, said, and the war’s continued expansion might present far greater dangers to people living in Ukraine.
The safety of civilian vessels and international shipping routes is growing more perilous as attacks and military activity increase across the wider Black Sea region.
The incident follows a ship attack off Romania also and adds to the fear of commercial shipping being at risk in the area. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has condemned attacks on civilian vessels and warned of the threat to maritime security.
Repeated attacks could also put financial pressure on shipping companies through higher insurance costs and increased security costs. Operators may face more uncertainty when planning routes through the Black Sea if there is an increase in the number of incidents.
Allegations of responsibility for the latest drone strikes are still being investigated, and the blame for the latest drone strike is disputed.
But the sinking of a commercial vessel in Bulgaria’s economic zone is a reminder that the danger of the conflict is expanding beyond the battlefield and into international waters for civilian shipping.
