Bulgarian authorities are conducting a search for the missing crew of a vessel that sank in the Black Sea, within the country’s exclusive economic zone. Meanwhile, the crew of a second ship has been successfully rescued, according to Rumen Nikolov, who oversees rescue operations in Varna.
The submerged ship is identified as the Alfa Watan, while the other vessel is the Able. The Able’s crew of 18, some of whom sustained injuries, evacuated the ship after an onboard fire forced them to abandon it. They were later taken in by the Bulgarian ferry Dioscuria.
Drone Attacks in the Black Sea
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev linked the drone strikes on both ships to the broader escalation of conflict in the region, expressing concerns that the violence could spread further. He condemned the attacks as “an absolutely gross violation of international law and maritime affairs in general.”
Radev also noted that Bulgaria is monitoring a third vessel in the Black Sea that was struck in August and is now drifting without a crew or functional controls. The Bulgarian Air Force inspected the ship two days prior, and the Maritime Administration, Air Force, and Special Operations Forces remain prepared to respond if necessary.
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Indian and Turkish sailors were rescued during the operation, Varna’s regional governor, Mario Smrkov, confirmed. One survivor suffered severe burns and is being transported to a specialized clinic at the Military Medical Academy, while the other sustained a serious head injury.
A coordinated search effort is underway, with two helicopters from Krumovo Air Base en route to a naval formation to deploy rescuers if needed. Additionally, a Su-25 aircraft will conduct low-altitude reconnaissance to search for survivors.
Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov stated that current weather conditions permit a large-scale search, emphasizing that every effort will be made to locate survivors from the missing vessel’s crew.
Both ships transmitted distress signals around 4 a.m. local time while positioned approximately 80 nautical miles from Bulgaria. By 9 a.m., one vessel had vanished from Border Police radar screens.
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The Alfa Watan was en route to Romania’s port of Sulina. Its last recorded position was about 70 nautical miles off Bulgaria’s coast shortly after 2 a.m. on Tuesday.
Oleh Kiper, governor of Ukraine’s Odesa Oblast, reported that a Russian drone strike on a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship killed one person and injured seven others. He accused Russia of “grossly violating international law” by targeting civilian shipping and port facilities, warning that such actions threaten global food security.
Indian and Turkish sailors were rescued.
Search and Rescue Operations
Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov reiterated that favorable weather conditions support a full-scale search effort, vowing to exhaust all possibilities in locating survivors from the sunken vessel.