> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 11 Sailors Missing After Drone Attacks Sink Ship Off Bulgaria - URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/11-sailors-missing-drone-attacks-sink-ship-off-bulgaria/ - Published: 2026-10-13T14:05:35.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-13T14:05:35.000Z - Description: Drone attacks struck two cargo ships near Bulgaria, sinking one and leaving 11 sailors missing. Sofia sought NATO and EU help to protect Black Sea shipping while saying it lacks conclusive evidence of who launched the drones. - Author: News Desk - Tags: Breaking News Eleven sailors were missing after drone attacks struck two cargo ships off Bulgaria on October 13, sinking one and prompting the NATO member to seek allied help with maritime security. Five people were rescued from the sunken Guinea-Bissau-flagged HS Dignity, while all 15 crew members aboard the second vessel, Chelsea 3, were evacuated, according to Bulgarian officials cited by [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/drone-sinks-ship-off-bulgaria-coast-prime-minister-says-2026-10-13/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) and the Associated Press. Prime Minister Rumen Radev summoned Russia’s ambassador and sought assistance from NATO and the European Union. His government said it did not have conclusive evidence establishing the drones’ origin, even as Radev argued that the attacks benefited Russia. Ukraine directly blamed Moscow; the Russian ambassador told Bulgarian officials she had no information from Russia’s Defense Ministry about the strikes. The new attacks extend the danger to commercial shipping close to the shores of a U.S. treaty ally. They also create an immediate rescue emergency and a separate security problem: determining who struck the vessels and how to protect traffic without treating an unproven attribution as an established finding. ## Rescuers search for the missing crew Varna district governor Mario Smrkov said five sailors from the sunken vessel had been rescued and the search continued for 11 others, the [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/7dfef251fb7d47a717f0d600873dbf5b?ref=theamericanquorum.com) reported. Those sailors were listed as missing, not confirmed dead. The sinking occurred off Krapets, in northeastern Bulgaria near the Romanian border. The Bulgarian government’s initial [emergency account](https://www.government.bg/bg/prestsentar/novini/premierat-rumen-radev-svika-izvanredno-zasedanie-na-saveta-po-sigurnostta-zaradi-nova-ataka-sreshtu-targovski-korab-na-18-mili-iztochno-ot-byala?ref=theamericanquorum.com) placed Chelsea 3 about 18 nautical miles east of Byala when a distress signal arrived at 1:30 a.m. local time. The Maltese-flagged, Ukrainian-owned ship’s crew reported three aerial drones hitting its deck and hull. Its seven Ukrainian and eight Azerbaijani sailors were brought to Varna, and five received medical assistance. Officials received word of the second stricken ship during an extraordinary meeting of Bulgaria’s Security Council. Early reports listed only one survivor from that vessel; subsequent reporting raised the rescued total to five. The evolving figures underscore that the rescue count remained preliminary while the search continued. ## Bulgaria seeks allied surveillance support In telephone [talks](https://www.government.bg/bg/prestsentar/novini/v-telefonni-razgovori-s-predsedatelya-na-ek-i-generalniya-sekretar-na-nato-premierat-rumen-radev-prizova-za-obshti-usiliya-za-spirane-na-atakite-sreshtu-targovski-korabi-v-cherno-more?ref=theamericanquorum.com) with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Radev requested stronger support for monitoring Bulgaria’s maritime and airspace approaches. The government said the two leaders expressed solidarity and readiness to help clarify the circumstances of the attacks. Radev also proposed coordinating with Romania and Turkey on measures to protect navigation. Rutte said NATO had already strengthened its eastern-flank posture and would adjust deterrence and defense as needed, according to [Euronews](https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/13/two-ships-hit-by-drones-in-black-sea-one-sank-bulgarias-pm-says?ref=theamericanquorum.com). That places the incident within an existing allied security effort. His statement described continued monitoring and possible adjustments, rather than announcing a specific new deployment in response to Tuesday’s strikes. ## Responsibility remains unproven The government’s [meeting record](https://www.government.bg/bg/prestsentar/novini/premierat-rumen-radev-provede-sreshta-s-poslanika-na-ruskata-federatsiya-eleonora-mitrofanova?ref=theamericanquorum.com) draws an explicit distinction between Radev’s assessment of Russian interests and evidence identifying the attacker. Radev told Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova that Bulgaria lacked categorical proof of the drones’ origin. He nevertheless argued that Ukraine had no reason to destroy its own ships and that the results favored Russia. According to that same Bulgarian account, Mitrofanova said she had received no relevant information from Russia’s Defense Ministry and did not rule out a third-country provocation. Neither proposition establishes responsibility. Ukraine’s accusation and Bulgaria’s suspicion therefore remain separate from the confirmed facts of the strikes, the evacuation and the sinking. ## Shipping risks reach beyond the rescue zone The western Black Sea is a significant route for Ukrainian grain exports close to NATO members’ territorial waters. [Bloomberg reporting](https://gcaptain.com/bulgaria-points-to-russia-as-drones-hit-more-cargo-ships/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) described growing concern over that route after repeated attacks. Bulgaria’s government said the danger had already increased insurance costs and led some carriers to refuse cargoes for Bulgarian ports, also threatening oil deliveries to the Burgas refinery. Those economic effects were the government’s assessment, rather than a published independent estimate of losses. Tuesday’s strikes came a week after another pair of commercial vessels was attacked in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. One sank, while the crew of the other was evacuated. The repeated incidents matter because commercial ships have been struck beyond the immediate Russian and Ukrainian coastlines, drawing neighboring governments into rescue and investigation work. The repeated strikes have made protection of the shipping corridor a regional issue as well as a question about the individual vessels. Radev’s office said he would raise navigation security at the European Council’s October 15–16 meeting. The immediate priorities are finding the missing sailors and establishing the attacks’ origin. Bulgaria says it will continue investigating with EU and NATO partners while pursuing joint navigation-security proposals with Romania and Turkey. The requests show how a maritime rescue operation has become an allied security issue; the evidence available so far still does not resolve who launched the drones.