Two commercial vessels were struck by sea and aerial drones at about 3 a.m. local time on Tuesday, October 6, roughly 80 miles off Bulgaria’s coast, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said. The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan sank after sustaining critical structural damage; authorities had not confirmed its cargo or the crew’s fate in the Associated Press report. The Palau-flagged Able caught fire. A Bulgarian ferry evacuated its 18 crew members, and two injured sailors were taken to hospital.
This is a new incident following the separate October 5 sinking of a cargo ship carrying corn, already covered in the published index. Bulgaria said the drone origins were under investigation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russia; the attribution was not independently established in the reporting reviewed. The U.S. Maritime Administration already advises commercial vessels in the Black Sea to exercise caution because ships have been struck in the region. The new attack increases security risk for shipping, but reports do not establish a wider interruption to grain exports, higher freight rates, or a resulting U.S. food-price increase.