Drone attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea have sunk two cargo vessels in the past week, leaving 11 sailors missing and rattling insurers, as Bulgaria says Russia is likely behind the strikes but admits it cannot prove it.
According to Bulgarian officials, the latest attacks came overnight into Tuesday, when drones struck two vessels in or near Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. The Ukrainian-owned Chelsea 3, sailing under the flag of Malta, was hit by three drones about 18 nautical miles off the Bulgarian coast; all 15 crew members — seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis — were rescued. The Guinea-Bissau-flagged HS Dignity was not as lucky: it sank near the coastal village of Krapets, and while five sailors were pulled from the water, 11 remained missing on Wednesday as search teams kept combing the sea.
A finger pointed, but no proof
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev told parliament there was no logic in Ukraine attacking its own ships and crews, given that the outcome of every attack favours Russia. He stressed, however, that Sofia has no evidence proving Russian culpability. Radev summoned the Russian ambassador on Tuesday; the envoy denied knowledge of any operation but did not rule out a provocation by a third party. The strikes were first reported from Sofia by the Associated Press, and Reuters reported vessel-tracking details showing the HS Dignity had sailed from the Algerian port of Mostaganem.
The wider war keeps bleeding into commercial shipping lanes. Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure have been a fixture of the conflict, and the region’s trade has faced other pressures this month, with China restarting fuel exports to ease tight diesel markets.
Grain corridors and rising insurance bills
The business consequences are already visible. Analysts tracking the region note rising insurance premiums and refused cargoes for Black Sea routes — a chilling effect that hits grain shipments especially hard. Ukraine’s foreign minister has called the Black Sea a lifeline for global food security, accusing Moscow of weaponising hunger, while the European Commission president called the sea another front of escalation and demanded accountability.
Two sinkings in a week off the coast of a NATO member state: for shippers, insurers and port operators from Odesa to Varna, the question is no longer whether Black Sea routes are risky, but how much extra risk they can afford to price in.
