Contship Jet Sinks in Black Sea After Drone Strike

East of Varna, on the morning of October 29, the container ship Contship Jet went under in the Black Sea. It had taken three drone hits the previous day, and the crew of 18 abandoned ship. All 18 survived. They were brought to Varna: 14 Filipino and 4 Ukrainian nationals.

Bulgaria's Maritime Administration confirmed the sinking in international waters inside Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. Inspectors found no oil or chemical pollution. More than 20 containers were found drifting near the position where the ship went down.

The Liberian-flagged, Greek-managed ship was carrying 421 containers at the time of the strike. It was the fifth ship hit by drones in Bulgaria's EEZ this month.

Earlier this month, seven sailors went missing when drones struck cargo ships off Romania. The cargo ship Khoryv sank off Romania on October 23 in a drone attack. A drone-damaged Chelsea-3 reached the port of Burgas under its own power after being struck; the Contship Jet was not.