Bulgaria condemns Black Sea ship attacks, seeks halt to sea fighting
Bulgaria's security council on Wednesday condemned the drone attacks that sank one cargo ship and set another on fire. It called for an inquiry to find who did it and said Bulgaria should push for a halt to fighting in the Black Sea. The sunken ship's crew is still missing, and Bulgaria has not said who sent the drones.
Bulgaria has given up hope of finding the crew of a cargo ship sunk by drones in the Black Sea.
The search for the sailors of the Alfa Watan was halted at 5 p.m. Tuesday and will not resume, Bulgaria's maritime agency said Wednesday. Vice Adm. Rumen Nikolov said no survivors or bodies were found. Searchers found an overturned boat, life jackets, three life rafts and pieces of the ship, Novinite and the Sofia Globe reported.
"There are no traces of the sailors of the first ship and probably there will be none," Nikolov said. He said the blast was so strong the ship sank almost at once. Most of the crew were likely asleep below the waterline. Officials think the ship went down in about three minutes. The number of sailors on board has not been reported.
The attack came around 3 a.m. Tuesday, about 70 nautical miles east of the town of Byala. That is inside Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. Sea and air drones hit two ships, the state news agency BTA reported. The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan sank. The Palau-flagged Able, carrying wheat, caught fire. All 18 of its crew were rescued by a passing ferry. They are from Turkey and India. One mechanic was badly burned and is in critical condition.
Who sent the drones? Bulgaria's leaders have not said. Prime Minister Rumen Radev called the attack "absolutely unacceptable." He said the drones were "clearly either Russian or Ukrainian." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had no operations in the area. He called it "a combined Russian attack using maritime and aerial drones."
Days earlier, another ship was hit in Romanian waters, Zelensky noted. He said Russia wants to make the western Black Sea unsafe for shipping.
After Bulgaria's national security council met Wednesday, President Iliana Iotova said the council condemned the strikes on merchant ships as a gross violation of international maritime law. It called for an immediate investigation to find those responsible and said the government must tell the public what it finds, BTA and Novinite reported.
The council also said Bulgaria should work for a deal among the six Black Sea countries, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Turkey, to halt fighting at sea. It called for urgent talks with Romania and Turkey, more NATO surveillance and counter-drone help, and new anti-drone weapons for Bulgaria's military. Bulgaria plans to raise the issue at the European Union summit on Oct. 15 and 16.
Three quarters of the council backed the plan, as the law requires, and three parliamentary groups voted against it, Novinite reported. Radev said there is no direct threat to Bulgaria's national security. He said Bulgaria would send a diplomatic note to Russia or Ukraine if the drones turn out to be theirs.
What we know: Bulgaria's security council condemned the attacks and wants a halt to fighting at sea, and the Alfa Watan's crew is still missing.
What we don't: Whose drones struck the ships.
Where outlets agree BTA and Novinite both report that Bulgaria's security council condemned the ship attacks, called for an inquiry to find those responsible and backed seeking a halt to fighting in the Black Sea.
Where they differ Zelensky says Russia launched the drones, while Bulgaria's leaders say only that they were Russian or Ukrainian and want the wreckage examined first.