Eleven sailors missing after attacks on two ships in the Black Sea

Plink minus 11 sailors were reported missing after the attacks, attributed to Russia, against two ships in the Black Sea, on the coast of Bulgaria, confirmed to the AFP news agency the regional authorities of Dobrich.

“ Five people have been rescued and 11 are missing. These are provisional data. The sea is very agitated,” said AFP the spokesperson for the regional administration of Dobrich in northeastern Bulgaria.

The ship “HS Dignity”, owned by a Marshall Islands company and sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau, was destined for Romania, according to the maritime traffic portal Maritime.bg.

The freighter was about 27 kilometres from the Bulgarian coastal city of Krapets, within the exclusive economic zone of Bulgaria, when it suffered the attack, eventually sinking. Authorities are organizing searches for the missing.

In another attack that took place today, 29 kilometers from Byala, the Ukrainian-owned “Chelsea 3” freighter was damaged. The vessel was sailing with the flag of Malta, coming from Turkey towards Moldova, the governor of Varna, Mario Smrkov, reported at a press conference.

The 15 sailors – seven Ukrainians and eight Azeris – of the “Chelsea 3”, who drifted, were rescued and taken to the Bulgarian port of Varna. Three of them suffered second-degree burns and one also presented head trauma, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense reported.

“We have no solid and clear evidence to charge any of the parties with accusations, but logic, as I have already indicated, points to the Russian Federation,” said Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev today in a video published on social networks.

That's why it was good for you to call the Russian ambassador for explanations.

Radev stated in a statement that the attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea are absolutely unacceptable and represent a significant escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, triggered by the Russian invasion in 2022. It also indicated that it requested help from the European Union (EU) and NATO to clarify the facts.

On October 6, “Alfa Watan” shipwrecked ten people on board, who are still missing, after being attacked by drones in the waters of the exclusive economic zone of Bulgaria, while transporting salt from Egypt to Romania.

That same day, the ship “Able”, with a load of wheat, was severely damaged in another similar attack, although the 18 crewmen were rescued alive.