New Black Sea ship attacks off Bulgaria renew questions over drone responsibility

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Timeline

1. 2026-10-05

   A fire broke out aboard the Royad Mammadov. The ship sank about 30 nautical miles south of Sfântu Gheorghe; Romanian authorities said two people died and 11 were rescued.

   Sources: The Hindu (via AFP) · BBC News

   Supporting statements

   Romanian authorities said two crew members died and 11 were rescued after a ship caught fire and sank in the Black Sea.

   Romania's interior ministry said the vessel sank about 30 nautical miles south of Sfantu Gheorghe.

   “At around 11:00 (09:00 GMT), Coast Guard border police officers were informed that a fire had broken out on board a commercial vessel located within Romania's exclusive economic…”

   The ministry said 11 crew members had been rescued.

2. 2026-10-06

   On October 6, drones hit the Togo-flagged Alfa Watan and Palau-flagged Able in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. The Alfa Watan sank with its crew reported missing; the Able caught fire and all 18 crew members were rescued.

   Sources: The Kyiv Independent (via Nova) · The Kyiv Independent · Xinhua

   Supporting statements

   Nova reported that drones of unknown origin hit Alfa Watan and Able off Bulgaria's coast on Oct. 6.

   The Togo-flagged vessel Alfa Watan suffered severe structural damage and sank.

   The fate of Alfa Watan's crew was unknown, and the search for survivors was continuing.

   All 18 crew members of Able were rescued by a Bulgarian ferry.

   Radev said the 18-member crew of the second ship evacuated and was rescued.

3. 2026-10-06

   On October 6, the Liberian-flagged Aframax Rio tanker loaded with oil was attacked with unmanned surface vessels off the Black Sea coast; Russia’s Transport Ministry said crude oil was burning openly and all 23 crew members were rescued.

   Sources: TASS · NDTV · The Hindu

   Supporting statements

   The Russian Transport Ministry reported that the Liberia-flagged Aframax Rio oil tanker was attacked off the Black Sea coast on October 6.

   “…crude oil is burning openly in the waters of the Black Sea”

   Russia’s transport ministry said the fire was too intense for firefighters to tackle and that all 23 Indian crew members had been rescued.

4. 2026-10-12

   Reported 2026-10-12: Bulgaria said it had requested EU and NATO technical assistance to continue investigating the drone attacks.

   Sources: RIA Novosti

   Supporting statements

   The Bulgarian government reported that Bulgaria requested technical assistance from the EU and NATO to continue investigating the drone attacks.

   In letters to EU and NATO leaders, Rumen Radev stressed the need for allied support and urged that the assistance request be treated as a priority because it was urgent.

5. 2026-10-13

   Radev said two ships were hit by drones off Bulgaria on Tuesday (October 13, 2026). Three drones hit the Chelsea 3 near Byala around 1:30 a.m.; its 15 crew members were evacuated. Radev said one crew member from the sunken ship was rescued; Yonhap reported five rescued and 11 missing.

   Sources: The Hindu · BBC News · RIA Novosti (via BTA) · Yonhap News Agency

   Supporting statements

   Radev said three drones hit the Ukrainian-owned, Maltese-flagged Chelsea 3 about 18 nautical miles off Bulgaria’s coast around 1:30 a.m.

   Radev said a Ukrainian-owned vessel was hit by three drones near Byala and all 15 crew members were rescued.

   Radev said that three drones struck a Malta-flagged vessel 18 nautical miles east of Byala, while another vessel was struck 17 nautical miles east of Krapets and sank, with one crew member rescued.

   Five crew members from the sunken ship were rescued and 11 were missing.

6. 2026-10-13

   During an emergency meeting of Bulgaria’s Security Council on Tuesday, Radev called the attacks unacceptable and said Bulgaria would seek international assistance to investigate them and determine the drones’ origin.

   Sources: RIA Novosti (via BTA) · CBC News · Ukrinform (via Novinite)

   Supporting statements

   Radev said an emergency security council meeting had been convened because of the incident.

   At an emergency Security Council meeting, Radev called the attacks unacceptable and said Bulgaria was seeking help from NATO and the European Union.

   Radev said Bulgaria would seek international assistance to investigate the attacks and determine the drones' origin.

   Radev said the available evidence was insufficient to attribute the attacks to a specific country, though their outcome appeared to benefit Russia.

7. 2026-10-13

   Radev summoned Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova on Tuesday over the drone attacks. He said Bulgaria lacked conclusive evidence about the drones’ origin.

   Sources: Yonhap News Agency · Xinhua

   Supporting statements

   The Bulgarian government summoned the Russian ambassador posted in Bulgaria.

   Radev acknowledged that Bulgaria lacked conclusive evidence about the drones' origin.

Coverage

Each outlet's headline, linked to its article. Non-English headlines are machine-translated. The groupings and notes on what each outlet emphasises are automated.

None of our outlets is based in Bulgaria, Romania or Azerbaijan.

More detail

Written by our automated pipeline from the statements in the coverage; each point lists the statements it rests on.