A Greek-owned container ship chartered by Israeli shipping company ZIM has gone down in the Black Sea. Bulgarian authorities said three unmanned surface vessels struck it off Bulgaria's coast on Wednesday. The Contship Jet, flying the Liberian flag, was carrying 421 containers from Haifa's port to Constanța, Romania. All 18 people aboard survived.
The attack came roughly 20 nautical miles off Bulgaria, inside the country's exclusive economic zone but beyond its territorial waters. The Bulgarian Navy said the three drones hit the ship at about noon local time. The impact started a fire and left the vessel listing heavily.
Reports differ on how quickly it sank. i24NEWS, which reported that the ship had left Haifa on Sunday, said it sank hours after the strike. VINnews reported that it went down overnight into Thursday and that some containers fell into the sea as the ship was damaged.
The crew, 14 Filipinos and four Ukrainians, was picked up by Bulgarian naval and border police vessels and taken to the port of Varna for medical checks. ZIM announced that all crew members were rescued unharmed.
Bulgaria's government said it had received advance warning of a possible attack but was unable to prevent it. Bulgarian naval officials said a French maritime patrol aircraft had alerted authorities to the threat.
Ynet reported that the identity of the attackers remains unclear. Initial assessments suggest the ship was not targeted because of its connection to Israel, though investigators have not yet established a motive.
ZIM confirmed that it chartered the vessel but does not own it, and said it is working to secure a replacement ship and maintain service to its customers.
"All crew members were safely evacuated, and the expected financial damage, according to a preliminary assessment, is minimal," the company stated.
Oren Caspi, chairman of ZIM's workers' union, called for the company to stay in Israeli hands. "In a reality of boycotts and security threats, in a world of political instability, we must keep ZIM Israeli," Caspi said. "Much remains unknown about this extraordinary attack, and we are still learning the details."
The sinking is the latest in a series of drone attacks on merchant ships in the western Black Sea, and the reported tallies differ. Ynet put the number at at least six vessels hit off Bulgaria's coast this month, with roughly 25 people killed, and said at least 45 merchant ships have been attacked over the past 12 months in parts of the Black Sea not previously classed as high-risk. VINnews cited Bulgarian officials reporting at least six vessels attacked this month and about two dozen seafarers feared dead. It described the Contship Jet as the fifth vessel struck this month in the exclusive economic zones of Bulgaria and Romania. Bulgaria, a member of NATO and the EU, has requested additional help to strengthen maritime security.
i24NEWS counted the Contship Jet as the ninth civilian ship hit in the Black Sea this month, with more than 30 sailors dead. It reported that suspicion has fallen on Russia, while Bulgaria's government has been reluctant to assign blame. The attack took place while the defense ministers of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey were holding talks on Black Sea maritime security.
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