Sea drones struck a container ship off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast on Wednesday, Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said, in the latest in a string of attacks on merchant vessels that have raised fears about the growing scope of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Source: Reuters

Stoyanov told reporters on the sidelines of a regional security meeting that the ship was hit with three naval drones approximately 21 miles southeast of Shabla, on Bulgaria's northern Black Sea coast. The vessel was a Greek container ship sailing under the Liberian flag in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, Reuters reported.

A maritime security source with knowledge of the matter said the crew had been evacuated. Bulgaria's national radio reported that a tanker was sent to assist the damaged vessel, which was en route from Israel's port of Haifa to Constanta in Romania. The ship's Greece-based owner and manager, Contships Management, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters said.

Source: Bulgarian National Radio via Reuters

At least six merchant vessels attacked in recent weeks

Drone attacks on merchant ships off Bulgaria have likely killed some two dozen international seafarers in recent weeks, and at least six merchant vessels have been attacked, according to the Reuters report. The strikes have prompted Bulgaria, a member of both the European Union and NATO, to seek allied assistance to bolster maritime security in the region.

For Indian and Punjabi seafarers and traders who work on Black Sea and Mediterranean shipping routes, the widening attacks are a direct safety and livelihood concern, as merchant crews from South Asia serve on vessels across the world's major trade routes. There was no report in the Reuters dispatch that any crew member was killed or injured in this latest incident.