Drone-Struck Ship Sinks Off Bulgaria
Three sea drones hit the Greek-managed Contship Jet inside Bulgaria's offshore economic zone. All 18 crew were rescued, and Greece's prime minister called at the UN for a global maritime truce.
A cargo ship under way on the Black Sea near Constanța, Romania, October 2016.Illustration by The Good Times, based on a photo by HopsonRoad / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
A container ship struck by three sea drones off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast has sunk. The Liberian-flagged, Greek-managed Contship Jet was hit about 21 nautical miles southeast of the town of Shabla while sailing from Haifa, Israel, to Constanța, Romania. All 18 crew members, 14 from the Philippines and four from Ukraine, were rescued by Bulgarian navy and border police vessels and brought to the port of Varna. The cargo included lithium-ion batteries, and initial checks found no visible pollution, Bulgarian officials said. Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said it was the fifth drone attack in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone this month. Bulgarian military officials said the origin of the drones had not been established. At a UN Security Council debate on maritime security, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis condemned the attack and called for a "global maritime truce," saying threats to shipping raise shipping and insurance costs that consumers end up paying.
The attack and the sinking
Three maritime drones struck the Contship Jet around midday on October 28, about 21 nautical miles southeast of Shabla, near Cape Kaliakra in northeastern Bulgaria, Stoyanov said, according to the AP and BTA, Bulgaria's state news agency. The ship sank during the night, Bulgarian authorities said, BTA and Bulgarian National Radio reported. Navy Commander Rear Admiral Kiril Mihaylov said the ship had been carrying 421 containers, 20 of which fell overboard, and that its cargo included lithium-ion batteries and other hazardous materials, according to BTA and Bulgarian National Radio.
The crew left the vessel and were taken aboard Bulgarian navy and border police ships, the AP and BTA reported. None of the 18 was injured, Bulgarian National Radio reported.
Who launched the drones
No government has named who launched the drones. Mihaylov said he did not know where they had come from, Bulgarian National Radio reported. Admiral Emil Eftimov, Bulgaria's outgoing chief of defense, said their origin still required analysis, BTA reported.
A string of attacks
The sinking followed four earlier drone attacks on ships in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone since the start of the month, the AP and BTA reported. Bulgaria is a NATO member.
The call for a truce
Mitsotakis spoke at a high-level Security Council debate on emerging technologies and maritime security, held under Greece's presidency of the council. "Targeting civilian commercial shipping is completely unacceptable," he said, according to the Greek government's transcript and Reuters. "It is yet another reminder for the urgent need for a global maritime truce, ensuring that commercial vessels can navigate safely and freely even in times of conflict." He said threats to freedom of navigation drive up shipping and insurance costs and that "ultimately, it is our citizens who pay the price."
The water
Initial checks found no visible pollution, and experts from Bulgaria's Maritime Administration expected no significant harm to the marine environment or the coast at this stage, BTA and Bulgarian National Radio reported. Water sampling along the coast was planned.