Eleven sailors missing after Black Sea drone attacks; Bulgaria confronts Russian envoy

Eleven sailors are missing. Five others survived the sinking of HS Dignity off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, but the search continued through the latest October 13 accounts without a verified outcome for those still unaccounted for. They are missing, not confirmed dead—a distinction that matters most to the families waiting for news. ⁷²

A second drone-hit merchant ship, Chelsea 3, lost no crew: Bulgarian Border Police brought all fifteen people aboard ashore. Prime Minister Rumen Radev summoned Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova and met her on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Bulgaria’s diplomatic confrontation with Russia is established. Responsibility for the attacks is not. ^{34 52}

The attacks unfolded overnight from October 12 into October 13. HS Dignity, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged general cargo ship identified by IMO number 9545912, sank approximately seventeen nautical miles—31 kilometres—east of Krapets, in the Shabla area. It was travelling toward Brăila, Romania. Maritime.bg placed the sinking at around 22:00 UTC on October 12; that remains approximate, not a verified minute-by-minute reconstruction. ^{72 76}

The vessel identification and rescue count have changed substantially. The Sofia Globe’s October 13 account named Azov Concorde as the ship that sank; the BBC reported one survivor, reflecting Radev’s initial statement. Later maritime and Bulgarian institutional reporting identified HS Dignity as the wreck and Azov Concord as a rescuer. These are superseded early accounts, not equally supported alternatives. ^{3 1 72}

The Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged Azov Concord recovered four survivors. The Danish-flagged Skandi Asserter recovered another, establishing five rescued while the missing count remained eleven. President Iliana Iotova also identified HS Dignity as the sunken vessel. Its crew’s nationalities have not been conclusively established; descriptions of Syrian and Egyptian sailors remain unconfirmed. ⁷²

Three aerial drones reportedly struck Chelsea 3’s deck and side about eighteen nautical miles east of Byala. Another contemporaneous account placed it roughly fifteen nautical miles offshore; no exact position reconciles those descriptions. The ship is Ukrainian-owned, flies Malta’s flag and is registered at Odesa—three different attributes, not evidence that it flew a Ukrainian flag. It was sailing from Giresun in Türkiye to Giurgiulești in Moldova. ^{36 6 150}

Its distress signal was received at 01:30 Bulgarian local time on October 13, equivalent to 22:30 UTC on October 12. That records the report’s receipt, not necessarily the strike time. Seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis were evacuated in rough seas and reached Varna’s Maritime Station around 07:30 local time, where ambulances awaited them. ^{36 106 150}

BTA described the cutter’s rescue and transport operation as taking about two hours. That cannot explain the entire six-hour interval between the distress report and shore arrival: the exact departure time and boundaries of the operation are unestablished. ^{34 150}

The medical picture is more serious than the initial shorthand of five minor injuries. Novinite’s October 13 report, citing Varna Regional Governor Mario Smarkov, described six injured: five with minor injuries and another with burns. A Defence Ministry update carried by BTA identified three Naval Hospital admissions—two Azerbaijani men aged 42 and 33 and a Ukrainian aged 58—with second-degree burns. One also had a mild traumatic brain injury. None had a life-threatening condition. ^{1 9 146}

These accounts do not provide a unified patient-by-patient tally. Five sailors examined and discharged from St. Anna Hospital cannot safely be added to three Naval Hospital admissions to declare eight distinct patients; overlap is unresolved. The evacuation total is settled. The total injured or treated, and individual recovery outcomes, are not. ^{150 146}

Chelsea 3 remained afloat, described as slightly listing and drifting without its crew near Cape St. Athanasius. The Sofia Globe initially said the ship had reached Varna, but later operational accounts establish the crew’s arrival, not a completed tow. The vessel’s arrival in port remains unconfirmed, as do its current stability, salvage arrangements and pollution status. No confirmed spill report does not mean no spill occurred. ^{3 156 169}

Radev convened an emergency Security Council meeting and called the latest attack “absolutely unacceptable.” He also stated: “We do not have clear and conclusive evidence to attribute responsibility to either side.” His argument that the outcome benefits Russia, and that Ukraine destroying its own ships makes no sense, concerns motive and consequences. It does not identify who controlled the drones. ^{1 36 52}

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha blamed Russia. Mitrofanova said she had no information from Russia’s defence ministry and did not rule out a third-party provocation. Neither the accusation nor that alternative explanation has been demonstrated by publicly conclusive evidence. The ambassador’s lack of information is not an investigative finding clearing Russia. ^{92 52}

The repeated attacks nevertheless give Bulgaria an immediate security problem. On October 6, air and sea drones struck Alfa Watan and Able in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, approximately seventy nautical miles east of Byala. The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan sank; its ten crew are presumed dead. Searchers found rafts, life jackets and an overturned boat, but no survivors or bodies before the search was suspended. ^{29 172 116}

The Palau-flagged Able caught fire, but all eighteen aboard—eleven Turkish and seven Indian sailors—were rescued, some injured. Those outcomes must not be merged with HS Dignity’s eleven missing. Nor has a common perpetrator or operational connection between the October 6 and October 13 attacks been conclusively established. ^{26 47}

On October 6, we reported a separate sinking off Romania: Royad Mammadov, carrying corn from Ukraine toward Italy, with two reported dead and eleven rescued. The cause remained unconfirmed despite Ukraine’s drone accusation. The latest Bulgarian attacks establish a fresh emergency, not a correction or proven link to that earlier incident. ^{80 82}

Radev warned of higher insurance premiums, shipping refusals and risks to oil supplies for the Burgas refinery. No verified premium increase, transport-loss total or refinery shortfall quantifies those consequences. Bulgaria informed its NATO and EU representatives and sought help investigating the drones’ origin and strengthening air and maritime surveillance. ^{65 52}

Radev spoke with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; both organizations condemned the attacks. Rutte described an already strengthened eastern-flank posture and adjustments “as needed,” not a completed new deployment responding specifically to these strikes. Radev plans talks with Romania and Türkiye and intends to raise shipping safety at the October 15–16 European Council meeting. Those discussions and resulting measures have not yet occurred. ^{62 70 65}

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