In brief
Three drones hit the Liberian‑flagged container ship CONTSHIP JET southeast of Shabla. All 18 crew members were rescued, and the ship, carrying gas oil and lithium‑ion batteries, sank at midnight. Bulgarian authorities have begun extensive seawater sampling to check for pollution and are investigating the incident under international law.
On Wednesday, the Liberian‑flagged container ship CONTSHIP JET was struck by three maritime drones about 21 nautical miles southeast of Shabla and sank around midnight, the Varna Regional Administration said.
All 18 crew members were rescued and taken to Varna. The vessel was carrying 421 containers of various goods, including gas oil and lithium‑ion batteries, and 20 containers fell overboard, according to Naval Commander Rear Admiral Kiril Mihaylov.
Environmental Response
The Maritime Administration Executive Agency inspected the sunken ship and, after checking that the cargo of gas oil would evaporate quickly and is unlikely to reach the Bulgarian coast, reported that no significant marine or coastal damage was expected.
Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said that five coastal locations—Durankulak, Shabla, Cape Kaliakra, Byala and Sozopol—would be sampled on Thursday to detect petroleum products, polychlorinated biphenyls, heavy metals and other physicochemical indicators of water quality.
Teams from the Defence Ministry collected samples from two sites along the Black Sea and reported no visible signs of pollution. The Environment and Water Ministry said additional sampling around the ship’s wreck will be carried out and that the results will be made public.
Legal Investigation
The Sofia Military District Prosecution Office has opened a pre‑trial investigation into the drone attack, which involves prohibited use of maritime drones on a neutral‑flagged vessel, the prosecution office said. The case will examine the ship’s ownership, cargo, crew composition and whether international law was violated.
Admiral Emil Eftimov, Bulgaria’s outgoing Chief of Defence, told a bTV interview that the drones came from the east and did not enter Bulgarian territorial waters. He added that Bulgaria was on alert and had deployed unmanned aerial vehicles despite severe weather. He stated,
We are not at war. The drones did not enter territorial waters, so we did not take action.
European Commission spokespersons expressed solidarity with Bulgaria following the incident. The spokesperson said,
"Drone attacks on commercial ships are unfortunately part of a wider pattern of increased attacks that we have seen recently."The Commission warned that such attacks threaten maritime security, EU interests and global supply chains, and offered cooperation with Bulgaria and Romania on maritime security.
