The drone that hit the container ship CONTSHIP JET near Shabla is likely a variant or derivative of the Russian Murena-300S drone. This was reported by Reuters, citing an assessment by Thomas Alexa, a senior analyst at the international maritime risk company Ambrey Analytics.
“Ambrey's assessment is that the drone is a variant of or derivative of the Russian Murena-300S model“, Alexa told Reuters. According to him, the maneuvers of the device indicate remote control. A video taken by a crew member shows a matte black drone about six meters long.
The assessment does not constitute an official identification of the device. Bulgarian authorities have not confirmed its origin, nor have they named the perpetrator of the attack. Prime Minister Rumen Radev said that the available video has a “very good image”, but expert examinations are pending to establish the origin of the drones. “If it is proven what origin these drones are, a note of protest will be handed over”, Radev said.
Attack on the container ship
The CONTSHIP JET was hit on October 28 about 21 nautical miles southeast of Shabla. According to the Ministry of Defense, the attack was carried out by three surface drones. The ship was sailing under the Liberian flag from Haifa to Constanta and was carrying 421 containers.
The crew of 18 people - 14 Filipinos and 4 Ukrainians - was rescued by the Navy and taken to Varna. The container ship sank the night after the attack. According to Bulgarian authorities, a French patrol aircraft detected the drones before the attack, which assisted in the rescue operation.
What is Murena-300S
The Murena-300S was first presented in August 2024 at the military equipment exhibition “Army-2024“. It was developed by the Russian design bureau “Center for Unmanned Systems“ as a multi-purpose unmanned surface vehicle.
According to the developer, the boat is 5.5 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, can reach speeds of up to 45 kilometers per hour and has a declared range of 500 kilometers. It can carry a payload of up to 500 kilograms and perform tasks in waves up to the fourth degree.
Among its described purposes are patrolling, reconnaissance of surface and coastal targets, laying and neutralizing sea mines and fire support. The device is equipped with remote control, inertial navigation, a thermal imaging camera, an infrared system and a lidar.
Moscow denies any connection to the attacks on merchant ships off the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and has not specifically commented on the attack on the CONTSHIP JET.
Sources: segabg.com, bnrnews.bg, apnews.com