Six vessels attacked by drones in the Black Sea in 10 days — The Guardian
In the Black Sea near Bulgaria and Romania, six merchant vessels were attacked by drones over 10 days. At least 11 sailors were killed in the strikes, while crew members of several vessels remain missing. The Guardian reports.
On the morning of October 6, the crew of the Bulgarian ferry Dioscuria heard an explosion about 70 miles from the city of Byala. At the scene, the sailors found an overturned lifeboat and life jackets in the water. The Turkish cargo vessel Alfa Watan, which was heading to the Romanian port of Sulina, was struck and later sank. Ten members of its crew remain missing.
Deaths of sailors and new attacks
Six days later, drones struck the vessel HS Dignity off the Bulgarian coast, killing 11 crew members. Later, the attacks spread to Romania's airspace and territorial waters: the chemical tankers Wine Trader and Yara J were attacked and caught fire. Another seven sailors were considered missing.
The vessels Able and Chelsea-3 were also struck. Thomas Alexa, an analyst at the insurance and analytics company Ambrey, said that the pace of attacks has risen sharply since July. According to Ambrey's assessment, forces of the Russian Federation, the aggressor state, may be responsible for approximately 80% of such incidents.
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Alexa noted that attacks on merchant vessels in the Black Sea had occurred before, but both their number and geographic scope are now increasing. He linked the risks to crews to so-called double strikes involving aerial and surface drones; the latter can carry up to half a tonne of explosives.
Risks to trade and NATO security
Due to the danger, the number of vessels calling at Ukraine has declined, while the cost of insuring voyages in the Black Sea has increased. In September, the Joint War Committee of the London insurance market expanded high-risk zones to the entire Black Sea basin, excluding the territorial waters of Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and Georgia.
Rumen Radev called the attacks near Bulgaria's territorial waters absolutely unacceptable. He said there was no clear and conclusive evidence to assign responsibility to either side, but, in his view, the consequences of these attacks benefit the Russian Federation. Bulgarian officials called on the EU and NATO to strengthen regional security together with Turkey and Romania.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met with Radev and Romanian President Nicușor Dan to discuss security in the Black Sea. According to him, the Alliance will continue cooperation with Black Sea allies and adjust its defence and deterrence posture as necessary.
