Rumen Radev said in an emergency briefing that drones fired from an unknown platform struck two commercial vessels inside Bulgaria’s Exclusive Economic Zone, 128 kilometres from the Black Sea coast, marking the first recorded maritime attack on a NATO‑member’s waters.
The Togo‑flagged cargo ship Alfa Watan suffered catastrophic hull breaches that caused it to sink instantly; no crew reports have surfaced, leaving families and shipping companies in limbo.
Palau‑flagged Able ignited after impact, forcing a Bulgarian ferry to pull it to safety; 18 crew members were rescued, two of whom suffered severe burns and were air‑lifted to a Varna hospital for treatment.
The drones’ launch point remains unidentified, though the incident follows a Turkish‑owned grain carrier that sank earlier in the Black Sea, killing an Indian and an Azerbaijani sailor, raising alarms about regional maritime security.
Unlike territorial waters, Bulgaria’s 200‑nautical‑mile EEZ grants it only economic rights while allowing other nations freedom of passage, making the attack an unprecedented violation of maritime law within a NATO state.
Bulgarian authorities have opened a forensic investigation and are coordinating with NATO intelligence to trace the drones, while diplomatic channels are already being engaged to address the breach of security in the Black Sea.