A commercial ship sank and its crew went missing on Tuesday 6 October 2026 after two cargo vessels were targeted by drones in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, while maritime response teams rescued 18 sailors who had been aboard the second vessel after it caught fire. The incident occurred east of Cape St Athanas and the coastal city of Byala, about 80 nautical miles from the Bulgarian coast.
Vessels identified as search operations begin
Initial information indicated that the first distress signal arrived at about 3am via an emergency buoy, after which a wide-ranging search and rescue operation began in the area. According to preliminary data, the targeted vessels were Alfa Vatan, a general cargo ship flying the Togolese flag, and Ebel, registered under the flag of Palau.
Alfa Vatan sustained severe structural damage before sinking east of the Bulgarian coast. Rumen Nikolov, director of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Varna, said the crew of the sunken ship remained missing, while the sailors aboard the second vessel had been rescued. No members of the Alfa Vatan crew were found during the first phase of the search operation.
18 sailors rescued from burning vessel
A large fire broke out aboard Ebel after it was hit, prompting its 18 crew members to abandon ship. The Bulgarian ferry Dioskouria, a passenger and vehicle carrier, was diverted to the scene, where its crew managed to retrieve all the sailors and take them on board.
First aid was provided to the injured aboard the ferry before the sailors were transferred to a Bulgarian navy boat and a border police vessel, in preparation for taking them to hospitals in Varna. Preliminary information indicated that one sailor had suffered serious burns and another had sustained a head injury, while other crew members had less serious injuries.
Bulgarian naval units are taking part in the search and evacuation operations, alongside vessels that were near the scene. Efforts to find the crew of the sunken ship and secure the area where the targeting occurred are continuing.
Bulgarian authorities have not identified who the drones belonged to or established the full circumstances of the attack, while the relevant agencies have begun investigating the source and flight path of the drones and the circumstances surrounding the targeting of the two commercial vessels. The office of Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova confirmed that two vessels had been hit by drones inside the country’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, without providing further details about those responsible for the attack.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev called an emergency meeting with representatives of the relevant institutions to discuss the incident and coordinate the response. The meeting included representatives of the defence, interior, transport, environment and water ministries, as well as the presidency and security agencies. Radev was to deliver a statement on the developments at the start of the meeting.
