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Container ship sank after drone attack - new drone type identified
The 'Contship Jet', which was operating under charter to ZIM, has sunk about 12 hours after being attacked by sea drones, after drifting southwards off Schabla, in the night of Oct 28 at around midnight. None of the 18 crew member were injured. They arrived at the port of Varna on the evening, and the joint rescue operation has concluded. It had involved emergency rescue services, the Maritime Administration, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Bulgarian Border Police. The ship's owner had arranged a hotel for the seafarers through his agent in the city. The crew was to undergo medical examinations. 20 of the containers had gone overboard and were adrift at sea. The cargo contained various fuels and other hazardous materials. The Ministry of Environment and Water has launched an investigation into possible pollution of the Black Sea following the incident. So far, however, no visible pollution has been found. According to the submitted cargo manifest, the transported goods included lithium-ion batteries, corrosive liquids and acids, flammable liquids, ethanol solutions, household chemicals, and plastics. Teams from the Directorate of Water Management took seawater samples at five locations along the coast - Durankulak, Shabla, Cape Kaliakra, Byala, and Sozopol - on Oct 29. Judging by its appearance, the unmanned vessel, which sank the container ship, appeared to be a new model that has not previously been seen publicly in the Black Sea. A French reconnaissance aircraft monitored the attack. One sea drone - a matte black, 5-6 meter-long unmanned surface vehicle (USV)- was approaching the vessel at high speed. It was driving alongside the vessel, before turning towards its hull. Its maneuvers indicated it was controlled remotely. The authorities in Bulgaria and Romania had spent more than a month trying to determine what types of unmanned craft have been sinking ships. At least six ships have been attacked by drones off Bulgaria this month, and about two dozen seafarers are feared dead, according to government statements. The USV in the latest case was likely a variant of, or derived from, the Russian Murena-300S design, according to Tomas Alexa, a senior analyst at Ambrey Analytics. Reports with photos and video: https://www.maritimedanmark.dk/containerskib-sunket-ud-for-bulgarian https://maritime-executive.com/article/zim-confirms-loss-of-containership-attacked-in-black-sea-off-bulgaria https://www.euronews.com/2026/11/02/watch-unseen-images-of-drone-sinking-greek-tanker-off-bulgarian-coast https://rtnmedios.com/internacional/iran-presuntamente-hunde-buque-ligado-a-naviera-israeli-desata-sospechas-por-el-uso-de-drones-en-el-mar-negro/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/greek-container-ship-sinks-after-drone-attack-off-bulgaria-2026-10-29/ https://www.farodevigo.es/mar/2026/10/30/hundido-mar-negro-buque-mercante-135913016.html https://x.com/InsiderGeo/status/2115736232781050092/video/1 https://twitter.com/i/status/2115789491524812815 https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BzmG6VVNs/
14 rescued Filipino seafarers repatriated - containers spotted in Burgas Bay
14 Filipino seafarers of the 'Contship Jet' were expected to return to the Philippines on Nov 2. They were among the 18 crew members rescued after the vessel was struck by a drone and sank on Oct 28. The captain had instructed them to jump into the water following the initial strike. The crew members spent two to three hours at sea before rescuers reached them. The survivors were brought to Varna, Bulgaria, where Philippine labour officials provided assistance, assessed their conditions and arranged support for their repatriation. The vessel's captain and a company representative praised the Filipino crew for their professionalism and expressed their willingness to work with them again. A container from the sunken ship has washed up on Nestinarka beach in Tsarevo, loaded with Christmas trees, probably meant for Christmas markets. On the whole four containers had been spotted drifted in Black Sea east of Burgas Bay, while the current carried them south along the Bulgarian coast, on Nov 1 at 10.55 a.m. The container on Nestinarka beach was one of those that maritime authorities had warned were drifting in the area.
Container ship abandoned after drone attack
The 'Contship Jet', enroute from Haifa to Constanța with 421 containers on board, was hit by three sea drones on Oct 28, 2026, at noon, while sailing off Bulgaria’s northern Black Sea coast. The attack took place approximately 21 nautical miles off the coastal town of Shabla, 16 nautical miles off Cape Kaliakra, which would place it in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, but four miles outside the country’s territorial waters. The ship caught fire and developed a list to starboard side, and the 18 crew members - among them 14 Filipinos and four Ukrainians - took to the life rafts. A tanker was also dispatched to provide assistance. Meanwhile, another drone approached over the water, endangering the lives of the sailors. Before the incident, the Navy received a signal from a French Navy's Atlantic maritime patrol aircraft. The aircraft crew initially observed two unmanned aerial vehicles, and then another, which were heading towards several ships north of Cape Kaliakra. It was assumed that the ships would be attacked, the information was immediately disseminated to the Maritime Traffic Management with a request to warn vessels of the danger of a drone attack. The corvette 'Resolute', the SAR ship 'Proteo“ and a 'speedboat with the ship number 223 were sent to the risk zone. The first strike was carried out at around 12:00, followed by two more. After a signal that the crew was starting to leave the container vessel, rescue teams were directed to the site. All 18 sailors were taken aboard the 'Proteo'. During the inspection, it was found that the ship was hit on the starboard side in the waterline area. The vessel remained afloat and continued to drift at the site of the attack. The attacking drones were moving at a speed of about 26 knots. The attack took place within about an hour and was carried out in international waters. The incident was the latest in a series of drone attacks on merchant ships off the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania, and came as the defence ministers of Bulgaria, Romania and Türkiye were meeting on Oct 28 to discuss maritime security in the Black Sea. It was widely believed that Russia was behind the attacks. Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey adopted a joint statement strongly condemning attacks against civilian shipping. The Bulgarian defence minister Stoyanov emphasised the shared responsibility of the three Black Sea countries, all NATO allies, to ensure the safety of maritime transport. The three defence ministers also agreed to organise further meetings in the near future to continue their cooperation. The tanker 'Khoryv' had caught fire after an attack on Oct 23. There were 13 people on board, including 10 Ukrainian and three Azerbaijani citizens. Nine sailors were rescued, one was killed and three remained missing. Other ships attacked during the recent days included the 'Alfa Watan', 'Able', 'Chelsea 3' and 'HS Dignity'. The 'Alfa Watan' and 'Able' were struck inside Bulgaria’s EEZ on Oct 6, 2026, at around 3 a.m. Report with video: https://www.novinite.com/articles/241335/Sea+Drone+Attack+on+CONTSHIP+JET+Captured+on+Video
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