(Reuters)
Reuters, Oct 28 – 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.
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