Eleven sailors are missing after a drone attack sank a cargo ship in the Black Sea off Bulgaria overnight, Bulgarian officials said on Tuesday. The HS Dignity, sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau, went down about 15 nautical miles east of the village of Krapets. Five of its crew members were rescued by passing merchant ships, and a search for the other 11 is continuing. A second vessel, the Malta-flagged Chelsea 3, was also hit by drones; all 15 of its crew members were rescued and taken ashore at Varna.
Two ships hit overnight
The Chelsea 3, a Ukrainian-operated general cargo ship, sent a distress signal at about 1:30 a.m. local time after it was struck by three aerial drones that hit its deck and hull roughly 18 nautical miles east of Byala, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said. A Bulgarian Border Police cutter reached the ship and brought its crew — seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis — to Varna. Five crew members were treated for minor injuries; Bulgarian hospital reporting said three were hospitalized with burns, none in life-threatening condition.
Hours later, authorities received a signal from the second vessel near Krapets. The HS Dignity sank; an explosion was heard in the Shabla area, near Krapets, at about 1 a.m., the local mayor said. Five of its sailors were picked up by merchant vessels in the area.
The search for the missing
The search for the 11 missing sailors is being coordinated by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Varna, with Border Police vessels, the armed forces and the Maritime Administration taking part, according to the Bulgarian presidency. Officials said the sea state, above four on the Beaufort scale, was hampering the operation. The five rescued sailors were reported to be in relatively good health. Bulgarian officials said most of the sunken ship’s crew were Syrians and three were Egyptians.
No deaths have been confirmed. The figures changed during the day: the prime minister initially said one crew member had been rescued, and officials gave a preliminary crew count of 18 before the later official tally settled at 16 — five rescued and 11 missing.
Who carried out the attacks?
Bulgaria has not formally accused any country. “We do not have clear and conclusive evidence to attribute responsibility to either side,” Radev said. “However, the logic suggests that the outcome benefits the Russian Federation.” He summoned Russia’s ambassador, Eleonora Mitrofanova, who said she had no information from the Russian Defence Ministry about attacks on commercial vessels and did not rule out a provocation by a third party, according to the Bulgarian government.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, blamed Russia directly, saying the strike showed Moscow’s “deliberate disregard for civilian lives.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the Black Sea “another front of escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine” and said those responsible should be held accountable. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance would continue to adjust its military presence on its eastern flank “as needed.” Radev said Bulgaria would investigate with its EU and NATO allies and would open talks with Romania and Türkiye on joint proposals to keep Black Sea shipping safe.
A note on the ship’s name
Early Bulgarian media reports identified the sunken vessel as the Azov Concord. President Iliana Iotova’s official statement identified it as the HS Dignity, and later reporting indicated the Azov Concord was among the merchant ships taking part in the rescue of the sunken ship’s crew. This article follows the official identification.
Second attack in a week
The strikes were the second attack on merchant shipping off Bulgaria in a week. On October 6, the Togo-flagged Alfa Watan sank off Byala with 12 Syrian crew members missing — a separate incident; the search for them was later called off — and another vessel, the Able, was damaged and its crew rescued. Radev said the attacks have already pushed up insurance costs and led to cargo refusals for Bulgarian ports.
What remains unclear
Bulgarian authorities have not released the HS Dignity’s owner, operator, cargo or route, nor the identities of the missing sailors. No drone debris recovery has been reported, and officials have not said how long the search will continue.
Reporting based on statements from the Bulgarian presidency and government, the Varna and Dobrich regional authorities and the Border Police, and reporting by Reuters, the Associated Press, BTA and Bulgarian National Radio.
