Drone-struck ships in latest Black Sea attack were empty

In an official statement, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Transport and Communications has provided a timeline of last night’s drone strikes against commercial vessels near the country’s territorial waters.

Two more commercial ships hit near Bulgarian waters in Black Sea

The motor vessel CHELSEA-3, sailing under the Maltese flag with a crew of 15, was attacked at 1:15 a.m., 17 nautical miles east of Bulgaria's Byala. All 15 crew members were rescued. The vessel was empty and was sailing from the Turkish Black Sea port of Giresun to Giurgiulești in Moldova.

The HS Dignity, sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau with a crew of 16, was struck by a drone at 1:20 a.m. and sank 17 nautical miles east of Bulgaria's Shabla. The vessel, which was also empty, was en route from Algeria to the Romanian city of Brăila. Five sailors survived.

Media reports initially identified the vessel struck off the coast near Krapets and Shabla as the Azov Concord. However, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Transport later clarified that the vessel, together with the Scandi Asserter, had taken part in a search-and-rescue operation to locate the crew of the sunken vessel HS Dignity.

Earlier, Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov had reported that six people had survived. They are expected to be transported to Varna.

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Edited by Diana Tsankova