On 13/10, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev chaired an emergency cabinet meeting following an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack on the Malta-flagged cargo ship Chelsea 3, about 33 km off the town of Byala. Bulgarian officials rescued the crew of 7 Ukrainians and 8 Azerbaijani citizens.

"During the emergency meeting, we received information about an attack on another ship located about 31 km east of the village of Krapets. This ship sank, and one sailor was rescued", Radev stated.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev speaking at an event in Thessaloniki, Greece on 3/10. *Photo: AP*

Prime Minister Radev declared the two consecutive attacks on 13/10, targeting cargo ships near Bulgarian territorial waters, "unacceptable" and called for international assistance in investigating the incidents. He stressed the need to accurately identify which nation used UAVs to target ships passing through this area.

Location of the town of Byala in Bulgaria. *Graphic: BBC*

"We do not yet have concrete and clear evidence to accuse any party of being behind them. However, based on the logic I have outlined, the consequences of today's attacks benefit Russia, and therefore I will request a discussion with Russia's ambassador, Eleonora Mitrofanova", Radev said.

Russia has not commented on the information.

The Chelsea 3 cargo ship anchored at Sulina port, Romania on 17/7. *Photo: Marine Traffic*

In a statement on 13/10, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that its forces targeted a cargo ship in the Bug River estuary area of Mykolaiv province, Ukraine, and another vessel heading towards Odessa port at an unspecified location.

The Chelsea 3, measuring 136 m long and built in 2006, flew a Malta flag, was registered in Odessa, and is owned by Ukraine. According to the maritime tracking website Marine Traffic, the ship departed from Giresun port, Turkey, for an undisclosed destination before the attack.

Nguyen Tien (According to AFP, Reuters)