A container ship that sailed from Haifa in service of the Israeli shipping company Zim sank Thursday morning in the Black Sea, after being struck Wednesday by three unmanned explosive-laden vessels off the coast of Bulgaria. Bulgarian authorities confirmed the sinking after the ship sustained severe damage in the attack.
The vessel, CONTSHIP JET, sailed under a Liberian flag and was operated by a Greek company. It departed Haifa port on October 24 en route to Constanța, Romania, carrying 421 containers. Zim confirmed that the sunken ship had been operating in its service and that the circumstances of the incident are under investigation.
The attack occurred approximately 39 kilometers off the Bulgarian coast, within the country's exclusive economic zone but outside its territorial waters. According to reports, three unmanned vessels struck the ship's starboard side, which caught fire and began listing. The crew was forced to abandon ship, and its sinking was confirmed Thursday morning.
Fourteen crew members are Philippine nationals and four are Ukrainian. All of them were rescued and transferred to the port of Varna, Bulgaria, for medical examination. No injuries were reported.
