On the night of October 13, 2026, two cargo vessels were attacked in the Black Sea, approximately 15 nautical miles off the coast of Bulgaria.
Sea-news.az reports at 1:30 AM, a distress signal was received from the Ukrainian-owned, Malta-flagged cargo ship “Chelsea 3,” which was transporting cargo from Giresun, Turkey, to the port of Giurgiulesti in Moldova. The crew reported being struck by three aerial drones. All 15 crew members on board—seven Ukrainian and eight Azerbaijani citizens—were rescued by the Bulgarian border police. Five individuals received medical attention, and the 136-meter vessel was brought to the port of Varna.
Simultaneously, approximately 27 kilometers off Krapets, the St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged dry cargo vessel “Azov Concord,” owned and operated by a Turkish company, sank following a second strike while en route from Romania to Turkey. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced during an emergency Security Council meeting that one crew member has been rescued so far. Search and rescue operations involving the Danish vessel “Skandi Asserter” remain ongoing northeast of Cape Shabla.
