Ship that was hit by drones off Bulgaria sinks; Filipinos, other crew safe in Varna

ATHENS/SOFIA — A Greek container ship that was hit by naval drones off Bulgaria on Wednesday has sunk, the Bulgarian government said, in the latest of a series of strikes in the western Black Sea this month that have raised concerns about the widening scope of Russia's war in Ukraine.

The Liberian-flagged CONTSHIP JET, loaded with 421 containers, was badly damaged by three sea drones as it passed through Bulgaria's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)—but outside its territorial waters—en route from Haifa in Israel to Constanța in Romania.

The crew of 14 Filipinos and four Ukrainians were all rescued and transferred safely to the Bulgarian port of Varna, Contships Management said.

Video footage verified by Reuters showed a sea drone driving alongside the vessel before turning towards its hull. In a separate video, an explosion was seen, causing the ship to eventually list.

It was not immediately clear who had carried out the attack, which added to growing concerns about the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine on commercial shipping in the area.

Ambrey, a global maritime risk management firm, has analyzed footage, reportedly filmed on a handheld device by a crew member on board, showing a matte black, 5-6 meter-long unmanned surface vehicle (USV) approaching the vessel at high speed.

The USV was likely a variant of a Russian drone, said Tomas Alexa, a senior analyst at Ambrey Analytics, adding that its maneuvers indicated it was controlled remotely.

"Ambrey assessed that the USV was likely a variant of, or derived from, the Russian Murena-300S design," he told Reuters.

At least six ships have been attacked by drones off Bulgaria this month, and about two dozen seafarers are feared dead, according to government statements. While it is not clear who has carried out the attacks, Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Rumen Radev, has said that some of them appear to benefit Russia.

Moscow has denied involvement in recent attacks and did not immediately comment on Wednesday's incident.

Andriy Ryzhenko, a former senior Ukrainian navy officer, said the drone visible in the video does not look similar to any model of Ukrainian naval drone that he is aware of.

Bulgaria, a member of the European Union and NATO, has sought assistance to bolster security off its Black Sea coast.

Bulgarian naval commander Kiril Mihaylov told national television authorities had been alerted to a possible drone attack by a French patrol aircraft, but had been unable to prevent it.

The government said that initial inspections on Thursday had found no visible traces of pollution from the ship, whose cargo included lithium-ion batteries, corrosive liquids and acids and industrial components. — Reuters