Naval drones hit container ship off Bulgaria, all 18 crew rescued

Three naval drones struck a container ship in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea on Wednesday, Bulgarian defence minister Dimitar Stoyanov said. All 18 crew members were rescued and no injuries were reported.

The ship, the Liberian-flagged Contship Jet, was hit about 21 nautical miles south-east of Shabla, near Cape Kaliakra, Stoyanov told reporters. It was sailing from Haifa in Israel to Constanța in Romania. The vessel's managing company, a Greek firm, confirmed the attack.

The crew, 14 from the Philippines and four from Ukraine, were evacuated and are safe, Bulgarian National Radio reported. A tanker was also sent to assist the stricken vessel, according to Bulgaria's public broadcaster. Bulgaria's emergency rescue services, Maritime Administration, navy, air force and border police carried out a joint rescue operation. "The crew is safe. We thank Bulgaria for carrying out the rescue operation so quickly," a spokesperson for the managing company told Maritime.bg.

Romania's defence minister, Ştefan Radu-Oprea, condemned the attack, calling it "a new, serious threat to freedom of navigation and regional security" in a social media post, Digi24 reported. He said he learned of the strike while attending a meeting of the Bulgarian, Romanian and Turkish defence ministers in Sofia, and said Romania would keep working with NATO allies to strengthen maritime surveillance and the response to drone threats in the Black Sea.

Digi24 reported that this was the fifth commercial ship attacked off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast this month. The ship caught fire and suffered heavy damage to its starboard side but remained afloat and was drifting south, Bulgarian National Radio said. More than 20 containers carrying hazardous substances, including flammable gases and liquids, were scattered in the area where the ship was struck.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. Ukraine has blamed Russia for the series of drone strikes on commercial vessels off Bulgaria's coast in recent weeks. Bulgarian prime minister Rumen Radev said the attacks appeared to benefit Moscow, which denies any involvement.