In brief
On 28 October, a container ship hit by three maritime drones southeast of Cape Kaliakra sank around midnight. All 18 crew members were rescued and the vessel, carrying lithium‑ion batteries and light fuel oil, is being inspected by maritime authorities. Bulgarian officials are conducting seawater sampling at multiple coastal sites to detect any pollution, as no visible contamination was observed initially.
A container vessel struck by three maritime drones east of Cape Kaliakra sank around midnight on Wednesday, the Varna Regional Administration confirmed. The ship, identified as CONTSHIP JET, was carrying 421 containers that included lithium‑ion batteries and light fuel oil.
All 18 crew members—14 Filipinos and four Ukrainians—were rescued and brought to Varna, and the container ship was inspected by teams from the Maritime Administration Executive Agency. According to the agency, the light fuel oil evaporates quickly and is not expected to reach the Bulgarian coast, so no immediate marine or coastal damage was anticipated.
The Defence Ministry and the Maritime Administration collected seawater samples from two locations in Bulgarian territorial waters and found no visible signs of pollution. The Environment and Water Ministry announced that teams from the Black Sea Basin Directorate and the Executive Environment Agency will sample seawater at five coastal locations (Durankulak, Shabla, Cape Kaliakra, Byala and Sozopol) on Thursday. The samples will be tested for petroleum products, polychlorinated biphenyls, metals and other physicochemical indicators. The agencies plan to analyse the samples at regional laboratories in Varna and Burgas to determine whether pollution exists and whether seawater quality has been altered beyond visual detection.
Rear Admiral Emil Eftimov, Bulgaria’s outgoing Chief of Defence, said in an interview that the drones that struck the vessel came from the east and did not enter Bulgarian territorial waters. He noted that the air force was on alert, unmanned aerial vehicles were deployed, and new anti‑drone capabilities are being introduced to adapt to the changing security dynamics in the Black Sea.
Monitoring of the marine environment continues, and the results of the ongoing sampling will be made public by the responsible ministries.
