“The motor ship ABLE will probably sink in the waters of the Black Sea“, said Vice Admiral of the Reserve Rumen Nikolov, Chief Director of the General Directorate “Emergency and Rescue Activities“ at the Executive Agency “Maritime Administration“, during an extraordinary briefing in Varna. According to information from Maritime.bg, the vessel suffered critical damage and flooding of the engine room after a direct attack with drones.
The ship ABLE, which is under the flag of Palau, was hit in the Bulgarian exclusive economic zone, after which a fire broke out on board. All 18 crew members were rescued, and the damaged ship remained in the area of the incident.
The other attacked ship sank - ALFA WATAN, which was sailing under the flag of Togo. According to Bulgarian authorities, the vessel suffered critical structural damage and sank about 70 nautical miles east of Byala and Cape St. Atanas. Its crew is still being searched for.
All sailors from ABLE have been evacuated
The rescue operation for the ABLE crew began after a distress signal was sent. The Bulgarian ship DIOSCURIA reached the burning vessel and took the sailors on board, while rescue teams were sent to the area.
Sixteen of the rescued sailors arrived in Varna on a ship of the “Border Police“. Two injured people were transported earlier for medical assistance. According to the Varna Regional Governor Mario Smrkov, the mechanic of Indian origin has burns on 45% of his body and his condition is very serious.
“The condition of the mechanic, a citizen of India, who has burns and is admitted to this hospital, is very serious“, said Mario Smrkov.The Turkish captain of the ABLE was admitted to hospital with injuries to the head, chest and left leg, but was later released. One patient remains in the hospital – the seriously injured mechanic.
It has not been established who is behind the attack
The two ships were hit at around 3:00 a.m. on October 6. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev described the attack as a violation of international and maritime law. According to him, ABLE was transporting grain and was sailing south, while ALFA WATAN was moving north.
At the moment, Bulgarian authorities have not announced which country launched the drones. To establish their origin, remains of the drones used must be found and examined. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of the attack, but this claim has not been confirmed by Bulgarian authorities.
President Iliana Yotova has convened a meeting of the National Security Advisory Council, which will discuss the risks to Bulgaria's maritime security and critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, the search for the crew of the sunken ALFA WATAN continues, and the competent services are also checking for possible pollution of the sea water.
Sources: bntnews.bg, apnews.com, bta.bg,Maritime.bg