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/
News
ARINA A
On Oct 7, 2026, the 'Arina A', which had been targeted by a drone attack in the Black Sea, during which the bridge and parts of the superstructure burnt out, was spotted off the coast of Trabzon. The ship, which had departed Istanbul and was en route to Russia, had been hit by a drone in the Black Sea in September. Captain Dmitry Zhitin, one of the 25 crew members on board, lost his life during the attack. Following the incident, the crew was evacuated to Trabzon by teams from the Trabzon Coast Guard Group Command. The body of Captain Dmitry Zhitin was taken to the Trabzon Forensic Medicine Institute for an autopsy and was subsequently handed over to Russian Federation authorities once the procedures were completed. The Trabzon Chief Public Prosecutor's Office was conducting an investigation into the incident. Report with photos: https://www.haber61.net/trabzon/karadeniz-de-olumcul-dron-saldirisina-ugramisti-arina-a-trabzon-aciklarinda/645559
LARGO ATOM
On the night of Nov 1, 2026, the 'Largo Atom', enroute from Mina al Ahmadi to Jebel Ali with an ETA as of Nov 3, was hit by two projectiles about 70 nautical miles to the east of Ras Al Khafji, at the northwest end of the Arabian Gulf. All crew members were accounted for. After the tanker was hit by two UAVs, it suffered a complete loss of power. The tanker 'Grit' (IMO: 9243150) was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on Nov 3, 2026. All crew members aboard the vessel were safe, and no pollution was observed. Two unknown projectiles struck the tanker at around 7:00 p.n. UTC, about 14 nautical miles northeast of Limah, Oman.
SALVAMAR SUHAIL
The CCS of Salvamento Marítimo in Las Palmas mobilised the 'Salvamar Acrux' on the night of Nov 2 for the rescue of 53 Maghrebi individuals from a precarious vessel, which was located about 16 nautical miles east of Lanzarote. They were taken to Arrecife. The SAR helicopter Helimer 211 was also mobilised to assist. The CCS of Salvamento Marítimo in Tenerife coordinated a rescue operation on the morning of Nov 3 for one cayuco off La Restinga. it was assisted by the 'Salvamar Navia' to the port with 59 Sub-Saharan individuals on board. The CCS of Salvamento Marítimo in Cádiz mobilised the 'Salvamar Suhail' to a patera, which was located about 4.6 nautical miles southwest of Puerto América (Cádiz). The SAR boat transferred its 41 occupants to Puerto América.
GRIT
The 'Grit' was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on Nov 3, 2026. All crew members aboard the vessel were safe, and no pollution was observed. Two unknown projectiles struck the tanker at around 7:00 p.n. UTC, about 14 nautical miles northeast of Limah, Oman. On Nov 1, another tanker, the Liberian-flagged 'Largo Atom' (IMO 1034747), was also hit by two unknown projectiles about 72 nautical miles East of Ras Al Khafji.

