Two Turkish-owned ships struck off Bulgaria, one sinks

Two Turkish-owned cargo ships, the Togo-flagged ALFA WATAN and the Palau-flagged ABLE, were struck by drones in Bulgaria's Black Sea economic zone on Oct. 6, Bulgarian and Romanian authorities told local outlet Novinite. ALFA WATAN sank; all 18 crew of the ABLE were rescued, two with serious injuries, after a fire broke out aboard.

The strikes, roughly 80 miles east of the Bulgarian coast, followed an attack a day earlier on the Turkish-owned Royad Mammadov near Romania's coast, which Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said killed the ship's captain; Romanian officials confirmed two deaths. An analyst noted all three vessels link back to two Istanbul-based shipping companies and suggested a deliberate pattern, though Bulgarian authorities have not identified who launched the drones.

Bulgaria's prime minister convened an emergency security meeting and called the attacks a serious violation of maritime law. The analyst called for joint Turkish, Bulgarian and Romanian patrols beyond territorial waters as the only way to deter further strikes.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.