Crew of 18 Rescued From Conte Ship Jet Before It Sank Off Bulgaria
Key Facts
The 18 crew members of the container ship Conte Ship Jet were rescued after it was targeted by drones off the Bulgarian coast on October 28, before the vessel sank on Thursday, according to the Associated Press and the local maritime administration. The attack took place about 21 nautical miles from the coast, near Shabla and Cape Kaliakra, inside Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone and outside its territorial waters. The Bulgarian government confirmed that spotting the drones before the strike made it possible to evacuate the crew. None of the ship’s crew were killed or reported missing, unlike an earlier draft that conflated the incident with casualties from other attacks in the region. The sinking adds another incident to a series of attacks on ships in the Black Sea during October.
Conte Ship Jet was flying the Liberian flag and was bound from Haifa, Israel, for the Romanian port of Constanta when it was attacked. The ship was carrying 421 containers, but their contents were not immediately known, the Associated Press reported. The agency later reported, citing the website Maritime.bg, that some containers held lithium-ion batteries, flammable liquids and gases, and other hazardous materials. The cargo underscores the risks posed by the incident aboard the ship itself, while its route linked an Israeli port with the Black Sea and a Romanian port. The surviving crew members were taken to the city of Varna for medical examinations.
The crew comprised 14 Filipinos and four Ukrainians, all of whom were rescued, according to the Associated Press. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said a French patrol aircraft spotted the drones about half an hour before the strike and reported their trajectory, allowing the ship to be evacuated. He added that allied aircraft coordinated their movements with Bulgarian command centers. The sequence indicates that the warning came shortly before the strike and that aerial coordination helped get the crew off the ship before it sank. Sources reported no casualties among the crew in this attack.
The Bulgarian Navy said it had detected no pollution in samples taken from territorial waters after the ship sank, according to the Associated Press. Conte Ship Jet was the fifth vessel targeted by a drone in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone during October, the agency reported. The toll of two dead and at least 25 missing cited in Associated Press coverage relates to multiple attacks on ships in the exclusive economic zones of Bulgaria and Romania during the month, not to the Conte Ship Jet incident. The ship’s case is therefore part of a broader regional series, with varying consequences for crews and vessels. Sources provided no evidence that the attacks had increased marine insurance costs.
The defense ministers of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey met in Sofia around the time of the incident, called for an immediate halt to the attacks and agreed to strengthen information sharing, early warning and maritime coordination in the Black Sea. The agreement comes amid repeated attacks on ships within the countries’ exclusive economic zones, incidents that prompted the three countries to discuss maritime security. The ministers said they had agreed to bolster early-warning capabilities and coordinate efforts, according to the Associated Press. Sources gave no timetable for additional measures beyond the agreement. The identity of the party behind the attack remains a focus of the Bulgarian investigation.
Radev said on October 29 that images of the drone and details of the incident had been sent to allies, and that experts were carrying out the necessary examinations to determine the source of the attacks. He added: "I expect that we will finally get an answer and clear evidence of who is carrying out these attacks." Bulgarian authorities have not announced who was responsible for targeting the ship. Radev said Bulgaria could not act beyond its territorial waters in violation of international law, and that the government would act as soon as the source of the drones was verified. He added that the foreign minister would summon any ambassador to hand over a protest note if the party responsible, or the country to which the drones belonged, was established. The prime minister gave no timetable for completing the examinations or announcing their findings.