CONTSHIP JET Sinks After Three Sea-Drone Hits — Bulgaria: Drones Outside Territorial Waters Could Not Be Engaged
Varna, 29 October 2026
Key points
- Three uncrewed surface drones struck the Liberian-flagged, Greek-managed container ship CONTSHIP JET about 21 nautical miles south-east of Shabla at midday on 28 October, inside Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone but outside its territorial waters; bound from Haifa to Constanța with 421 containers, it sank during the night
- All 18 crew, 14 Filipino and four Ukrainian, were brought to Varna unhurt; about 20 containers went overboard, the government reported no visible pollution in its first inspections, and Bulgaria's military district prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation
- Admiral Emil Eftimov, the outgoing chief of defence: "We are not at war. The drones did not enter our territorial waters, so we could not take action against them." Rear Admiral Kiril Mihaylov, the navy commander: "We had no forces or assets in the immediate area that could reach them quickly enough to intercept and destroy them"
- No one has claimed the attack. Eftimov says the drones came from the east, Mihaylov that they could have been launched from anywhere; Ambrey, a maritime risk firm, assessed the drone in crew footage as likely derived from the Russian Murena-300S design; Moscow has denied involvement in the recent attacks
A container ship has been sunk by sea drones in a NATO member's economic zone, and Bulgaria's two senior naval commanders have given different reasons why it was not stopped.
The count of October's attacks depends on who keeps it: Bulgarian radio called the CONTSHIP JET the fifth ship hit in Bulgaria's economic zone; Reuters, citing government statements, put the ships attacked off Bulgaria this month at no fewer than six, with about two dozen seafarers feared dead. Mihaylov said the authorities had been alerted to a possible attack by a French patrol aircraft but could not prevent it. Eftimov said aircraft were on standby and uncrewed systems deployed, but severe weather hampered them, and that the navy had answered more than 100 reports of drones and debris over the summer. The captain said the cargo included fuel and other hazardous goods; the government listed lithium-ion batteries, corrosive liquids and acids.
The two commanders describe different gaps, and only one of them can be closed by buying ships. Mihaylov's is distance: forces close enough to intercept. Eftimov's, as Signal No. 179 put it, is the 12-nautical-mile line, outside which, in his account, Bulgaria may not act against the drones in peacetime. The CONTSHIP JET was hit 21 nautical miles out. Insurers have charged war-risk premiums outside the line since 16 September, and by one Odesa broker's estimate most transit traffic now sails inside it, as Signal No. 166 reported; the ships still exposed are the ones beyond the limit the chief of defence named. More patrols, and the French aircraft's warning, answer Mihaylov. Eftimov's limit moves only with a decision on what Bulgarian forces may do in the economic zone, and none has been announced.
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