Shipowners are already avoiding Bulgarian ports

A week after two cargo ships were struck by drones off the Bulgarian coast, the attack was repeated even closer to our territorial waters with a similar outcome: one vessel was sunk, and another was abandoned by its crew, resulting in injuries and likely numerous fatalities. This is already having tangible consequences for Bulgaria. “Attacks in the Black Sea have already led to increased risks for commercial shipping, higher insurance costs, and even refusals to transport cargo to Bulgarian ports. This drives up costs and jeopardizes oil supplies to the Burgas refinery,” Prime Minister Rumen Radev pointed out to Eleonora Mitrofanova, the Russian Federation’s ambassador to Bulgaria.

Marine insurance operates in this way: standard policies cease to be valid, and shipowners must purchase separate war-risk insurance—typically offered by specialized companies at much higher rates. This makes commercial shipping highly unprofitable or extremely risky.

Radev emphasized that it remains unclear whose drones carried out the attacks, “but there is no logic in Ukraine destroying its own ships, whereas the results of these strikes benefit Russia.”

This marks a significant hardening of tone compared to a week ago, when officials preferred not to identify a potential perpetrator—despite comments from Ukraine, Western allies, and even crew members of one of the first ships attacked suggesting it was most likely a Russian attack.

Both then and now, Russia has not claimed responsibility. “Ambassador Mitrofanova stated that she understood this logic but possessed no information from the Russian Ministry of Defense regarding the recent attacks on merchant vessels in the Black Sea. At the same time, she noted that she did not rule out the possibility that these attacks on merchant ships near Bulgarian territorial waters could be a provocation by a third party,” the government press service reported.

There is currently no comment from the embassy or the Foreign Ministry in Moscow. In any case, we know that the Odessa-registered ship *Chelsea 3* is currently without a crew after being struck by aerial drones overnight—18 nautical miles off Byala—leaving three sailors (two from Azerbaijan and one Ukrainian) hospitalized with severe burns. Only one person was rescued from the other ship, which exploded and sank near Krapets.

Meanwhile, the UN condemned attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea and warned that escalating threats to shipping are endangering seafarers and affecting global commodity prices. A spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, for the organization expressed particular concern regarding the latest attack off the coast of Bulgaria: “We condemn the attacks on these vessels, especially the latest incident off the coast of Bulgaria. It is deeply concerning, as attacks on ships carrying grain, food, and other products destined for the global market have recently increased and are expanding in scope. This has a terrible impact on global commodity prices, particularly given the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. We must express our gratitude to all the seafarers who continue to work in extremely dangerous conditions to ensure that the goods we rely on daily keep moving.”

Photo: Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Eleonora Mitrofanova, the Russian Federation’s ambassador to Bulgaria

Source: Council of Ministers, Republic of Bulgaria