Alfa Watan sinks off Bulgaria a day after Royad Mammadov is lost off Romania

The Togo-flagged general cargo ship Alfa Watan sank in the Black Sea on Tuesday 6 October after an attack by air and sea drones about 70 miles off Byala, on Bulgaria's eastern coast. A second ship, the Palau-flagged general cargo vessel Able, caught fire in the same attack. Both ships were inside Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, some 140 nautical miles from the Ukrainian coast.

Able was carrying wheat and sailing south. Her 18 crew abandoned ship after the fire and were rescued; two were injured. The crew of Alfa Watan is missing. A Bulgarian vessel that reached the position found overturned lifeboats and liferafts but no trace of the seafarers, and a search is under way for the crew and for any sign of pollution. Alfa Watan was built in 1976. Her cargo has not been disclosed, and it is not known how many people were aboard.

Who attacked the ships off Bulgaria?

Prime Minister Rumen Radev called the strike a gross violation of international law and said it was not clear whether the drones came from Russia or from Ukraine. Initial maritime security assessments pointed to a Russian attack. It appears to be the first attack of its kind inside Bulgaria's economic zone. Russia did not comment. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said attacks on civilian shipping were unacceptable.

The maritime security firm MARISKS said in an advisory that "the attacks represent a significant escalation in the threat to commercial shipping in the western Black Sea", pointing to the spread of incidents into the economic zones of Romania and Bulgaria, both NATO members.

What happened to Royad Mammadov?

The Bulgarian strike came a day after the St Kitts and Nevis-flagged Royad Mammadov, a Turkish-owned general cargo ship built in 2006, was hit by aerial and sea drones on Monday 5 October inside Romania's economic zone, about 9 nautical miles from the Pescăruș offshore platform. She had left Izmail about three hours earlier with corn for Ravenna.

The ship caught fire and sank. Two crew died, three were injured and one remains missing. Romanian rescue vessels and helicopters, coordinated by the Constanța rescue centre, recovered 11 people, and the three injured, aged between 22 and 50, were flown to hospital in Constanța. The crew included Azerbaijani and Indian nationals; three Indian seafarers were confirmed safe.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed what he called a "horrific strike by two Russian drones on a civilian vessel in neutral waters carrying corn". Romanian authorities have not named a suspect.

This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 6 October 2026.