Reuters, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Sea drones struck a container ship off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast on Wednesday, defence minister Dimitar Stoyanov said, the latest in a string of attacks that have raised fears about the growing scope of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
It was not clear who carried out the attack on a Greek container ship that was sailing under the Liberian flag in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.
A maritime security source with knowledge of the matter said that the crew had been evacuated. Bulgaria’s national radio reported that a tanker was sent to assist the damaged vessel, which was en route from Israel’s port of Haifa to Constanța in Romania.
The ship’s Greece-based owner and manager Contships Management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“A container ship was hit…with 3 naval drones, approximately 21 miles southeast of Shabla,” Stoyanov told reporters on the sidelines of a regional security meeting.
Drone attacks on merchant ships off Bulgaria have likely killed some two-dozen international seafarers in recent weeks. At least 6 merchant vessels have been attacked.
The strikes, which sparked international condemnation and concern about the growing reach of the war in Ukraine, prompted Bulgaria, a European Union and a NATO member, to seek allied assistance to bolster maritime security in the volatile region.
Ukraine has blamed the attacks on Russia, and Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Rumen Radev has said that the attacks appear to benefit Russia, but Moscow has denied involvement.
(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic, Stoyan Nenov and Renee Maltezou’; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Edward McAllister)
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