Bulgaria requests EU and NATO help with the Black Sea investigation
Bulgaria has requested technical assistance, satellite data and expertise from the EU and NATO. The request does not mean that assistance has already been provided or that responsibility has been established.
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Updated on 12 October: Bulgaria requests technical assistance from the EU and NATO
Bulgaria has requested technical assistance from the European Union and NATO to continue investigating the drone attacks on the two merchant vessels in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, the government press office said.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev has sent letters to European Council President António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Bulgaria has requested specialised technical equipment, satellite data and expertise to establish the origin of the drones and identify those responsible.
This is a request for assistance, not confirmation that help has already been provided or that responsibility has been established. The Bulgarian authorities are continuing their investigation.
Council of Ministers — statement of 12 October 2026 · BNT — 12 October 2026
Updated 10 October: laboratory samples show no oil pollution linked to the incident
At 17:20 on 9 October, the Environment Ministry published test results from waters near Kavarna, Byala and Sozopol. Petroleum products did not exceed applicable limits, and inspections found no oil slicks.
The ministry does not link deviations in other indicators near Sozopol to the incident. Monitoring continues. The findings concern the tested samples and do not identify who carried out the attacks.
Environment Ministry — laboratory results, 9 October 2026
Following the 7 October meeting, President Iliana Iotova announced proposals for joint action with Romania and Türkiye and stronger protection of shipping and critical infrastructure. BNT and bTV published her statement after the Consultative Council on National Security meeting.
What the council proposes
The proposals include urgent consultations with neighbouring Black Sea countries, increased air and maritime surveillance, faster acquisition of counter-drone systems and maintaining search-and-rescue readiness. Assistance would be sought from NATO, the EU and the International Maritime Organization.
Iotova said the proposals had been adopted by a three-quarters majority. They are recommendations to the executive and legislature; their announcement does not mean that all measures have already been implemented.
Responsibility has not been publicly established
The council called for an investigation into the strikes on merchant vessels and public disclosure of its findings. Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov told NOVA that there was no conclusive evidence of the drones’ origin. He said Bulgaria had requested international assistance to survey the site where ALFA WATAN sank using an underwater drone.
New on 8 October: European assistance to examine debris
The European Maritime Safety Agency has offered support to Bulgaria and Romania and is ready to examine any debris found free of charge, BNT reports. The agency can provide further information on vessel movements and identification, but does not itself determine who carried out the attack. The European Commission has also confirmed that the requested satellite data have been provided.
Previous developments: the search for ALFA WATAN’s crew and the rescued sailors from ABLE.
Update on 8 October: Syria and Turkey
Syria requested an independent investigation into the sinking of ALFA WATAN, Reuters reported. Ten crew members, including nine Syrians, remain missing. The request does not establish responsibility for the attack.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned that escalating Russian and Ukrainian attacks threaten shipping. Reuters reported that Ankara awaits responses to its proposal to stop them. No agreement was announced.
Reuters — Syria’s request, 8 October · Reuters — Hakan Fidan’s statement, 8 October
Investigation continues; search will not resume
Bulgarian authorities have not identified who attacked the two merchant ships. Sofia remains in contact with Ukraine and Romania. Findings from the 9 October inspection of ABLE are added below.
The rescue operation has ended. Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre head Rumen Nikolov told bTV that the search was called off late on 6 October and would not resume.
Ten sailors from the sunken ALFA WATAN — nine Syrians and one Egyptian — remain missing. The crews of two helicopters searched for around an hour and a half and found only floating debris. There is no confirmed information about the vessel’s cargo.
Update on 9 October: the frigate Verni is sent to ABLE again
On the morning of 9 October, the frigate Verni was again sent to the damaged vessel ABLE in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, the Ministry of Defence confirmed to bTV and NOVA.
The naval vessel was also in the area on 8 October, when it located and assessed ABLE and debris. Military personnel were confirmed to have boarded the ship later on 9 October.
Updated 9 October: the inspection of ABLE has concluded
Personnel from the 24th Krumovo Air Base inspected ABLE but found no drone remains, participants said at a briefing covered by BNT. The inspected cargo was wheat. The inspection lasted more than 30 minutes.
According to the navy, the ship was stable at the time of the briefing but had a hole in its stern. No spill was observed. This was an assessment at the time of inspection, not a guarantee of its future condition.
The defence minister said that without recovered debris, the drone's origin could not be identified. The attacker remains publicly unidentified; the findings about ABLE's cargo do not establish what the sunken ALFA WATAN carried.
BNT — briefing after the inspection, 9 October · bTV — defence minister's statement, 9 October
Sources for this update: bTV News — confirmation from the Ministry of Defence, 9 October; NOVA — further confirmation of the mission, 9 October.
Sources for this update: BNT; BNT — the helicopter crew; bTV News.
Sources: BNT and bTV — the statement following the 7 October Security Council meeting; NOVA — the defence minister’s interview at 19:58; BNT — the European Maritime Safety Agency’s offer of support on 8 October.
Archive illustration: the Black Sea viewed from Byala, 18 August 2014. Photo: Alexandru Panoiu. It does not show the meeting, the attack or the affected vessels. CC BY 2.0. Cropped and resized to 1200×675 px by 5000.news.
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