- The Liberian-flagged CONTSHIP JET was hit by three surface drones around 17 nautical miles east of Cape Kaliakra while sailing from Haifa to Constanta
- All 18 crew members were rescued, but more than 20 containers reportedly fell into the sea, creating an additional navigational and environmental safety risk
- The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on commercial shipping near Bulgaria this month, while the origin of the drones remains unconfirmed by the authorities
The Liberian-flagged container ship CONTSHIP JET was hit by three surface drones around 17 nautical miles east of Cape Kaliakra on Oct. 28, according to Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov and the transport ministry. The vessel was sailing from Haifa, Israel, to Constanta, Romania, carrying 421 containers. All 18 crew members abandoned the ship shortly after the distress signal and were rescued by Bulgarian naval and border-police units. The incident is the latest reported attack on commercial shipping in or close to Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone since early October and occurred while Bulgaria hosted defence ministers from Romania and Türkiye for talks on Black Sea security.
The immediate risk extends beyond the damage to the vessel. A navigational warning cited by specialised maritime outlet Maritime.bg said that more than 20 containers had fallen into the sea and included flammable gases, flammable liquids and other hazardous materials. The containers create a direct risk to navigation, while the nature of the cargo will require continued monitoring for a potential environmental impact. The attack therefore again exposes the vulnerability not only of crews and vessels, but also of the transport corridors linking Bulgarian and Romanian ports to the eastern Mediterranean and global container routes.
The CONTSHIP JET incident follows attacks on two merchant vessels around 70 nautical miles east of Byala on Oct. 6, when one ship sank and another caught fire, and further attacks on vessels near the Bulgarian coast on Oct. 13. Bulgaria has requested technical assistance from the EU and NATO for the investigations and for stronger monitoring of the maritime environment. However, the authorities have continued to state that the origin of the drones cannot be conclusively established without recovered wreckage, forensic evidence or a credible claim of responsibility. The pattern is sufficient to justify a stronger security response, but not to treat attribution as settled fact.
A separate investigation concerns the arson attack on Starlink-related communication antennas near the village of Plana, for which two German nationals have been detained in Germany under European arrest warrants. The case underlines wider concern about critical-infrastructure security, but no public evidence has established an operational connection between the arson and the ship attacks. The latest incident also comes days before the Nov. 1 presidential runoff between Iliyana Yotova and Andrey Gyurov. Gyurov has argued for closer Western security cooperation and has supported Ukraine, while Yotova has prioritised diplomacy and a peace-focused approach. The attack is unlikely to determine the vote on its own, but it reinforces the importance of how Bulgaria can protect shipping, infrastructure and its Black Sea interests while avoiding unsupported escalation claims.