A Turkish-owned commercial cargo ship sank in the Black Sea following an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) attack, killing all 10 crew members on board, BBC Turkish reported.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced the incident on Oct. 7, confirming that the attack took place approximately 112 kilometers off the coast of the eastern Bulgarian town of Byala. Radev identified the vessel as the Togo-flagged, Turkish-owned cargo ship “Alfa Watan”, which was en route to the Romanian port of Sulina.
The incident marks the second commercial vessel sinking in the region within days, following another Turkish-owned cargo ship that sank off the Romanian coast on Oct. 5.
Turkish government authorities issued no official statement regarding the sinking, and Turkish national media published no reports on the incident.
UKRAINE BLAMES MOSCOW
Bulgarian Prime Minister Radev did not attribute responsibility for the drone and naval UAV strikes. However, Ukrainian officials said following a joint investigation with Bulgaria that Russian forces carried out the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had similarly blamed Russia for the vessel that sank off Romania days earlier. Moscow has not issued a statement regarding either incident.
Drone and missile attacks targeting commercial shipping in the Black Sea have surged in recent months, increasingly impacting Turkish-owned vessels and crews navigating international waters.
FIDAN WARNS WAR IS SPREADING
While avoiding direct reference to the sunken vessel, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned that conflict is rapidly expanding across maritime routes.
'Today we see that the war is spreading to the Black Sea,' Fidan said. 'Increasing attacks on civilian ships pose a serious threat to life, property, navigation, and environmental safety in our region. As regional countries and the international community, we must never allow the Black Sea to turn into a new front of conflict.'
Fidan said that Turkey continues to convey warnings and technical proposals to both Moscow and Kyiv.
'Just before entering winter, both sides are in a massive offensive to gain military superiority over each other,' Fidan added. 'This seriously impacts navigation safety in the Black Sea. We see that Turkish-flagged, Turkish-owned, and Turkish-crewed ships are affected by this. We are doing everything we can to stop this.'
ERDOĞAN HOLDS CALL WITH PUTIN
On the same day Bulgaria announced the sinking, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the Directorate of Communications, Erdoğan stressed the critical importance of ongoing efforts to ensure navigation safety in the Black Sea and reiterated Turkey's readiness to facilitate direct contact between Russia and Ukraine.
During the call, Erdoğan also congratulated Putin on his birthday.
