Bulgaria Halts Search for Missing Crew After Deadly Black Sea Drone Strike Sinks Cargo Vessel

Bulgarian authorities have officially called off search and rescue operations after confirming that no survivors were located following a devastating drone strike that sank a commercial ship off the country's coast.

The early Tuesday attacks targeted two commercial vessels as maritime hostilities in the Black Sea escalate amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. While one vessel caught fire, the second ship ultimately sank.

“There is no trace of the sailors,” stated Rumen Nikolov, head of the Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, during a Wednesday press briefing. Nikolov confirmed that search efforts were halted late Tuesday and would not be resumed.

While 18 Turkish and Indian crew members were successfully rescued from the vessel that caught fire, the crew from the sunken ship remains unaccounted for. Although authorities have not officially disclosed the exact number of missing personnel, the specialized website Maritime.bg reported that 10 individuals were aboard the vessel.

Nikolov clarified that the incident transpired within a designated search and rescue zone rather than inside Bulgaria's territorial waters, which extend 12 nautical miles from the coast. Recovered items from the sunken vessel included an overturned boat, three life rafts, and scattered equipment debris floating on the sea surface. When questioned about drone fragments, Nikolov noted he had no information regarding such recoveries.

Prime Minister Rumen Radev strongly condemned the attack, labeling it “absolutely unacceptable.” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen also voiced her condemnation over the incident. Meanwhile, Bulgarian officials stated they remain unable to determine the exact origin of the drones.

According to Nikolov, a distress beacon from the sunken ship transmitted at 2:54 am on Tuesday, followed by a distress signal from the second vessel at 3:23 am. Data from the Equasis merchant shipping database indicates that both commercial ships were managed by Turkiye-based companies. The strikes occurred approximately 80 nautical miles east of the Bulgarian coastal town of Byala.

These incidents closely follow a separate attack on Monday in which another ship caught fire and sank off the Romanian coast, resulting in two fatalities. Ukraine has publicly blamed Russia for the drone assault.