Black Sea Strikes Leave 11 Crew Missing as States Respond

Eleven crew members remained missing after drone strikes sank two ships in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone and adjacent waters on Tuesday; rescuers saved five others. Bulgaria said four ships came under attack in the Black Sea during the past week, and two sank. The crews paid the immediate price for attacks on commercial vessels, while the Bulgarian government said it couldn't prove who was responsible.

Crew at Risk

One sunken ship, the Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo vessel Dignity, carried four sailors—three Syrian nationals and one Egyptian—who survived and reached the port of Varna, district Gov. Mario Smarkov said. “All four appeared to be in relatively good condition and had sustained no injuries,” he said. A fifth sailor was expected to arrive later on Wednesday. The search for 11 missing crew members continued.

The other sunken vessel, the Chelsea-3, belonged to Ukrainian owners, was registered in Odesa and sailed under the flag of Malta, a European Union member. The account names the ships and their crews but gives no cargo values, financial losses, company revenue or payments to owners. The reported human toll is clear: two ships sank, five crew members were rescued, and 11 remained missing.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev told Parliament that Ukraine had no reason to attack its own ships and crews. “There is no logic in Ukraine attacking its own ships and crews, given that the outcome of all these attacks favors Russia — and indeed, the logic points in that direction. The problem is that we cannot prove it,” he said. Bulgaria said Russia was likely behind the attacks but acknowledged it had no proof of Moscow’s culpability.

State Response, Unproven Attribution

Radev summoned the Russian ambassador to Sofia on Tuesday. She said she had no information from the Russian defense ministry and didn't rule out the possibility that “these attacks represent a provocation by a third party.” Responsibility remained unresolved as rescue operations continued.

Bulgaria requested international assistance to investigate the attacks on commercial vessels. It also asked NATO to help strengthen surveillance and control systems, along with response capabilities against drone attacks. The request sets out a state response focused on monitoring and responding to attacks; the article reports no investigation finding and no change in the danger facing missing crew members.

President Iliana Yotova called for an immediate halt to hostilities in the Black Sea and a moratorium on drone attacks against commercial and civilian infrastructure. “The unprecedented attacks demonstrate that the war has reached the Black Sea and that the conflict is intensifying,” Yotova said in a television interview on Tuesday.

A Proposed Moratorium

Yotova said she and her colleagues from Romania and Turkey had taken coordinated steps in response to growing risks and dangers in the Black Sea basin. “The aim is a moratorium on the use of drones over the Black Sea against commercial and civilian infrastructure and to halt hostilities over the sea,” she said.

The proposal calls for a moratorium and a halt to hostilities, but the account gives no enforcement mechanism, timetable or agreement by the parties to the conflict. Bulgaria's request for NATO support and its call for international assistance don't establish who carried out the attacks. The crews remain directly exposed: rescuers were still searching for 11 missing sailors as governments debated attribution and response.