Bulgarian Navy Rescues 18 Seafarers After Drone Attack On Cargo Ship In Black Sea

Three naval drones attacked a container ship off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, confirmed by the Bulgarian Defence Minister, Dimitar Stoyanov.

All 18 crew members affected by the attack have been rescued by a Bulgarian naval vessel. The Liberian-flagged container ship was identified as the Contship Jet.

According to BGNES, the attack occurred approximately 21 nautical miles from Shabla on October 28, 2026. 18 sailors involved in the incident included 14 Philippine nationals and four Ukrainians, who were successfully rescued.

The crew evacuated the vessel and were brought on board rescue vessels. Eight crew members were taken by a Bulgarian Navy boat, while the other ten were sent by the container ship’s lifeboat at 12:53 p.m. The whole crew was taken to the port city of Varna aboard a Navy vessel for medical attention, the Transport and Communications Ministry said.

Bulgarian Navy’s surveillance system and a French maritime patrol aircraft monitored the strike and observed three total hits, according to the Defence Ministry.

The navy vessels were immediately dispatched after the attack and rescued the crew members. Reports of sea drones came from the French maritime patrol aircraft flying over the Black Sea. The Bulgarian Navy’s operational centre was alerted thereafter.

The ship was travelling from Israel’s port of Haifa to Constanta in Romania, carrying 421 containers, according to the crew. The drone was identified as an uncrewed surface vessel by the Defence Ministry.

In October 2026 itself, a series of drone attacks took place off the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts. Suspicion increasingly falls on Russia because the outcome of the attacks favours it, but Bulgarian PM Rumen Radev says there is no solid evidence of who is responsible.

Stoyanov, the Defence Minister, had a trilateral meeting with the Turkish and Romanian Defence Ministers, Yaşar Güler and Ștefan Radu Oprea, respectively.

The meeting focused on Black Sea security. Following the October 28 attack, an immediate cessation of the attacks was called for. In a statement, the Defence Ministers from three NATO countries strongly condemned this incident.

Bulgaria requested additional technical assistance from NATO and the European Union (EU) for better maritime surveillance and counter-drone capabilities.