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Two Dead, 11 Rescued After Ship Catches Fire and Sinks in Black Sea, Romania Says

  • On Tuesday, October 6, a drone attack struck the Tonga-registered Alfa Watan and the Palau-flagged Able in the Black Sea near Bulgaria, sinking the former within minutes while the latter caught fire and was abandoned.
  • Bulgarian authorities ended the search for the Alfa Watan crew on Wednesday, finding no trace of the 10 to 12 sailors after the ship was struck 130 kilometers east of Byala. The vessel suffered critical structural damage and sank rapidly.
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his navy confirmed Russian drones caused the attack, though Russia's embassy in Bulgaria denied targeting the vessels. The Chief Director of Bulgaria's Maritime Administration Agency, Rumen Nikolov, estimated a 90 percent probability the Able would sink.
  • Prime Minister Rumen Radev convened the Bulgarian Government and called the attack a violation of international law. He stated there are no grounds to invoke NATO Article 4 or 5, as the strike occurred in legally neutral waters.
  • European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned the Black Sea situation was increasingly worrying, while assaults on merchant shipping have multiplied since summer as Russia and Ukraine target each other's export routes. Zelensky cautioned the war was widening geographically, raising broader conflict risks.
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One dry cargo sank after the attack, another was hit by a fire and a drone attack on two merchant ships near Bulgaria, causing additional risks not only to vessels linked to Ukraine but also to international commercial shipping in the Black Sea, which is described by RBK-Ukraine with reference to the publication of the Bulgarian publication NOVA. The drones attacked ships on international Atak routes around 03:00 on 6 October, about 70-80 nautic…

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Kathimerini English Edition broke the news in Athens, Greece on Monday, October 5, 2026.
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