NATO ready to adjust positions in the Black Sea after drone attacks off Bulgaria’s coast

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on October 13 that the alliance is ready to adjust its deterrence and defense posture in the Black Sea after drones attacked two merchant vessels near Bulgaria’s territorial waters overnight — one of which sank.

This is already the second wave of such attacks off Bulgaria’s coast in a week. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev appealed to the European Union and NATO for help in determining where the drones came from.

Allied response

Rutte posted on X after speaking with Radev:

“NATO will continue to work closely with our allies in the Black Sea. We have already strengthened our posture on the eastern flank and will monitor the security situation, adjusting our deterrence and defense posture as necessary,” Rutte wrote.

He announced no specific new measures.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “strongly condemned” the strikes, saying that “the Black Sea has become yet another front of escalation in Russia’s war on Ukraine” and that “those responsible must be held accountable.” European Council President António Costa expressed the EU’s full solidarity with Bulgaria. According to the Bulgarian state news agency BTA, he said that Russia’s hybrid actions would be discussed at the European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

Details of the attacks

According to Radev, a distress signal was received at 1:30 a.m. from the vessel Chelsea 3. The ship sails under a Maltian flag, is owned by Ukrainian owners, and is registered in Odessa. According to the crew, the vessel was struck by three drones approximately 18 nautical miles east of Byala. All 15 crew members — seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis — were brought to Varna, and five received medical assistance.

A second vessel was attacked approximately 17 nautical miles east of Krapets and sank. Interior Ministry spokesperson Lyubomir Nikolov said that five sailors from Syria and Egypt were rescued from it.

Radev said that Bulgaria has “no clear and irrefutable evidence to assign responsibility to one side or another,” but added that “logic suggests the outcome benefits the Russian Federation.” He summoned Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova, who said she had no information from Russia’s Defense Ministry and suggested that a third-party provocation could be behind the attacks. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha placed the blame on Moscow.

Regional diplomacy and consequences

Radev said he intends to open talks with Romania and Turkey on joint proposals for shipping security and to raise the issue at the European Council meeting. His government reported that the attacks have driven up insurance costs and that some shippers have begun refusing cargo bound for Bulgarian ports.

The latest strikes followed an attack on October 6 in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, when the Togo-flagged vessel Alfa Vatan sank — its crew was never found — and the Palau-flagged vessel Able caught fire. At the time, Radev said there were no grounds to invoke Article 4 consultations within NATO.