Container ship attacked near Bulgaria sinks in the Black Sea

The container ship Contship Jet, which was attacked by three naval drones near Bulgaria, sank in the Black Sea on the night of October 29.

This was reported by the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) with reference to the administration of the Varna region.

All 18 crew members, including four Ukrainians, were rescued.

According to the Bulgarian authorities, the ship sank around midnight. This data was confirmed by the shipping control services and the Bulgarian Maritime Administration.

After the attack, the container ship suffered significant damage to the hull. Due to the inflow of sea water, the ship began to list and drift to the south. As a result, some of the containers fell overboard.

According to the Bulgarian maritime publication Maritime.bg, more than 20 containers were found in the Black Sea, posing a danger to shipping.

According to the cargo manifest, Contship Jet was carrying, among other things, lithium-ion batteries, acids, corrosive and flammable liquids, household chemicals, plastics, food and industrial equipment.

At the same time, it has not yet been established what cargo was in the containers that fell into the water.

Bulgarian environmental protection services are investigating the possible consequences of the incident for the marine environment. Initial inspections of the coast near Shabla and Cape Kaliakra did not reveal any oil slicks or other visible signs of pollution.

Seawater sampling is scheduled for October 29 at five points along the coast – near Durankulak, Shabla, Cape Kaliakra, Byala and Sozopol.

According to the preliminary assessment of the Bulgarian Maritime Administration, no significant negative consequences for the marine environment and the coast are expected. At the same time, monitoring of the situation is ongoing.

As for the crew, all 18 sailors — 14 Filipinos and four Ukrainians — were evacuated after the attack. They were taken to Varna on the evening of October 28. According to Bulgarian services, none of the crew members were injured.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Defense also reported that naval drones approaching the Contship Jet were detected by a French patrol aircraft performing a mission over the western Black Sea.

Information about the threat was passed on to the Bulgarian military. Three ships of the Bulgarian Navy were involved in the rescue operation.

As a reminder, on October 28, three naval drones attacked the Liberian-flagged container ship Contship Jet near the Bulgarian coast. The ship was heading from Haifa, Israel, to the Romanian port of Constanta.