Ship attacks off Bulgaria expose security concerns for the Middle Corridor

Bulgaria’s potential role as an EU gateway for Asian goods through the Middle Corridor faces renewed scrutiny after two commercial ships were attacked in its Black Sea exclusive economic zone on October 6. One ship sank and the other caught fire. DW’s October 8 examination of the route describes the attacks as a reminder of its security risks; the cited reporting does not establish that either vessel was carrying goods along the corridor.

The attacks occurred at about 3 a.m., roughly 70 nautical miles east of the Bulgarian town of Byala, according to Bulgarian National Television (BNT). Prime Minister Rumen Radev said both vessels were damaged by aerial and maritime drones. The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan sank, while the Palau-flagged Able caught fire, details also reported by the Associated Press.

What happened to the crews off Bulgaria

BNT reported that all 18 people aboard Able were rescued. Radev said the crew comprised 11 Turkish and seven Indian citizens. Two people were seriously injured; an Indian crew member with burns remained at the Military Medical Academy in Varna when BNT reported on the incident on October 6. The ship’s captain was examined for a head injury and discharged, according to the regional governor quoted by BNT.

The search for Alfa Watan’s crew had a different outcome. BNT said a Bulgarian vessel responding to the distress call found life jackets, three overturned life rafts and a boat, but no crew members. Helicopters and a Su-25 aircraft joined the search. On October 7, AP reported that Bulgarian maritime authorities had suspended the operation and that its leader said no survivors or bodies had been found. That later account supersedes BNT’s October 6 description of an active search; the crew’s ultimate fate is not established in the cited reports.

Why the Middle Corridor matters to Bulgaria

Bulgaria has the Black Sea ports of Varna and Burgas and the Kapitan Andreevo land crossing with Turkey. DW reported that the crossing is already busy and that the country’s railways have suffered longstanding underinvestment. Those facts make port, road and rail capacity part of the question of whether the route could carry substantially more freight. DW also described an EU aim to raise €12 billion in public and private investment for connectivity and shorter transit times; its report does not specify how much of that sum would go to the Middle Corridor itself.

Vessela Tcherneva, deputy director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, told DW that the route avoids the conflict theatres near Russia and the Middle East. She also pointed to security concerns in Central Asia, weak institutions and limits on infrastructure. The Black Sea attacks illustrate one risk along a route with several vulnerable segments, but they do not establish that corridor shipments were attacked or delayed.

Who is responsible for the ship attacks

Bulgarian authorities were investigating the origin of the attacks, AP reported. President Iliana Yotova said Russia’s war in Ukraine had significantly worsened security in the Black Sea, but she did not directly blame Russia for these incidents. She said Bulgaria’s Security Council condemned attacks on commercial ships and called for a rapid investigation to identify those responsible.

AP reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russia, while the Russian Embassy in Sofia rejected Russian involvement. Russia’s Defence Ministry said an investigation was needed to determine whose drones were used. BNT quoted an Able crew member who believed a Russian underwater bomb was involved; that was his account, not an official finding. The cited reporting does not establish who launched the drones.

The European Commission said Bulgaria and Romania had requested satellite imagery and that the EU was providing it through its space-data analysis centre, according to AP. The reporting establishes a response to the incident, but no closure of Bulgarian ports, halt in Middle Corridor traffic or change to EU investment plans caused by the attacks. Those practical consequences remain unconfirmed while the investigation continues.