There is no doubt that the drones that attacked the container ship near Shabla are Russian. This was stated to the Bulgarian National Radio by Capt. Todor Georgiev, owner of a shipping agency. According to him, the attack is “a mockery of the Black Sea neighbors“.
The container ship CONTSHIP JET was hit by three drones about 21 miles southeast of Shabla. The Liberian-flagged ship had sailed from Haifa, Israel, to the Romanian port of Constanta. All 18 crew members were rescued.
“The good news is that the crew of the container ship was rescued, but the bad news is that a ship belonging to a third country, not participating in Russia's war with Ukraine, was hit, which was heading to a country that is also not a participant in this war, i.e. it was an indiscriminate attack on civilians“, Georgiev said.He called on Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova or the Russian authorities to explain why a ship belonging to a country that is not participating in the hostilities was attacked. In his statement, Georgiev presented the Russian side as the perpetrator, but the published information does not contain any information about an official conclusion by the Bulgarian authorities that would establish the origin of the drones.
According to Georgiev, the consequences for shipping could be serious. "The Black Sea will become a complete dead zone, and insurance will be increased to the point of impossibility," he said.
The captain also referred to the 1988 Rome Convention, which, according to him, defines attacks on merchant ships as a terrorist act. Georgiev said that such a norm should be present in every national legislation, but he does not know why this is not explicitly regulated in Bulgarian law.
He pointed out that "feeder" container ships often transport Chinese cargo from the Far East. According to him, after arriving in Constanta, the cargo is distributed to Romania and other Danube countries, including Slovakia, Hungary and Austria. Georgiev listed children's toys, textiles, chemicals and fireworks as possible cargo.
Earlier, Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov announced that the attack took place in the Bulgarian economic zone of the Black Sea. According to the Bulgarian National Radio, the CONTSHIP JET is the fifth ship attacked by drones in this area.
Sources: bnrnews.bg