In brief
The container ship hit by maritime drones sank around midnight east of Cape Kaliakra, and all 18 crew were rescued. Bulgarian officials confirmed no visible pollution and assessed that the light fuel oil carried on board would evaporate quickly. Seawater sampling will be carried out at five coastal sites to test for petroleum products and other contaminants.
A container vessel hit by three maritime drones east of Cape Kaliakra sank around midnight on Wednesday, and all 18 crew members were rescued. Bulgarian authorities confirmed the incident and are conducting extensive seawater sampling to detect any pollution.
The Varna Regional Administration, Traffic Control and the Maritime Administration Executive Agency reported that the ship was struck about 21 nautical miles southeast of Shabla. The vessel, named CONTSHIP JET, carried 421 containers, including lithium‑ion batteries and light fuel oil, and twenty containers fell overboard during the attack.
Teams from the Defence Ministry collected samples from two locations in Bulgarian territorial waters and found no visible signs of pollution. Maritime Administration inspectors visited the sunken vessel and, according to Regional Governor Mario Smarkov, no significant adverse effects on the marine environment or coastline are expected because the gas oil will evaporate quickly and is unlikely to reach the Bulgarian coast.
Seawater sampling is set for Thursday at five coastal locations—Durankulak, Shabla, Cape Kaliakra, Byala and Sozopol. The samples will be tested for petroleum products, polychlorinated biphenyls, metals and other physicochemical indicators of water quality. The Executive Environment Agency’s regional laboratories in Varna and Burgas will analyze them, and results will be made public.
Out‑going Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov said that the drones that struck the vessel originated from the east and did not enter Bulgarian territorial waters.
“We are not at war. The drones did not enter territorial waters, so we did not take action.”He emphasized that Bulgaria is increasing its intelligence, surveillance and early‑warning capabilities.
State authorities continue monitoring the marine environment and remain ready to act if a pollution risk appears. The Incident is the fifth drone attack on Bulgarian vessels in its exclusive economic zone since early October.
