Two Cargo Ships Hit by Drones Off Bulgaria: What We Know So Far

Two general cargo ships were hit by drones in Bulgaria's Black Sea zone on October 6, 2026. One sank, and its crew was reported missing, according to Bulgarian authorities cited by Reuters.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev confirmed the strikes in a televised statement, saying two vessels had been hit in Bulgarian waters. His account set the basic public record: two merchant ships struck the same day, one lost, with casualties still being clarified.

The position was reported as 80 nautical miles off the Bulgarian coast, according to Bulgarian National Radio. That is outside the narrow territorial sea and inside Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, the wider offshore area where a coastal state holds economic rights and where Sofia said the attacks occurred. Radev called an emergency meeting after the strikes, a step reported by Sofia Globe as officials moved to coordinate the response.

Both vessels were described as general cargo ships, workhorse freighters that carry bulk goods. One was carrying grain. Its crew was rescued, with two people injured, according to the account relayed by Internazionale. A Bulgarian-flagged ferry rescued the 18-member crew of one of the ships, BGNES reported. That rescue covers the survivors from the grain carrier. The crew of the second ship, the one that sank, is still unaccounted for. That drove the search.

A large-scale rescue operation was underway east of Cape St. Athanasius and the town of Byala. Bulgarian maritime authorities focused ships and crews in that part of the western Black Sea as the search continued.

The broader context here concerns officials, insurers and fleet operators watching the Black Sea. The facts so far leave the central questions open. An attack that sinks a merchant hull with seafarers missing inside an exclusive economic zone tests procedures for search and rescue, flag-state notification, casualty accounting and preserving evidence. It also strains commercial decisions. Captains, owners and charterers must weigh sailing orders against crew safety and hull risk, while underwriters and registries assess exposure vessel by vessel.

In my view, the next authoritative details to watch are narrow: vessel names and flags, verified casualty figures, the coordinates Sofia uses for its plots, and any attribution statement through formal channels. Without those, wider readings of intent would outrun the record. For now the confirmed core is limited but grave. Two cargo ships were struck off Bulgaria on October 6. One remains afloat with its crew recovered and two injured. The other sank with its crew unaccounted for, and the search off Byala continues.