{"id":1177,"date":"2026-10-06T15:41:45","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T12:41:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/5000.news\/ataka-korabi-cherno-more-byala-6-oktomvri-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T15:50:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:50:48","slug":"ataka-korabi-cherno-more-byala-6-oktomvri-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/5000.news\/en\/ataka-korabi-cherno-more-byala-6-oktomvri-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Sea: search for the ALFA WATAN crew has ended"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated 7 October:<\/strong> Bulgaria has ended the search for the ALFA WATAN crew, Reuters reported. The sailors\u2019 fate remains unknown. All 18 people from the other stricken ship, ABLE, were evacuated to Varna.<\/p>\n

All sailors rescued from ABLE are in Varna<\/h2>\n

ABLE, sailing under the flag of Palau, was hit about 70 nautical miles east of Byala in Bulgaria\u2019s exclusive economic zone. After a fire broke out on board, all 18 crew members were evacuated with the help of the Bulgarian ferry DIOSCURIA and later transported to Varna.<\/p>\n

According to BNT, two sailors sustained more serious injuries and remain under medical care. The other 16 arrived in Varna later in the day and underwent medical examinations.<\/p>\n

ALFA WATAN crew remains missing<\/h2>\n

The Togo-flagged ALFA WATAN sank after the attack. On 7 October, the Maritime Administration said Bulgaria would not resume the search. Its termination does not establish the missing sailors\u2019 fate.<\/p>\n

Bulgarian authorities: attack took place in the exclusive economic zone<\/h2>\n

Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the two merchant ships were attacked by aerial and maritime drones in Bulgaria\u2019s exclusive economic zone. The government described the attack as a serious violation of international law.<\/p>\n

Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov told BNT that the available information points to a combined attack involving aerial and maritime drones. However, no perpetrator has been officially identified and publicly confirmed.<\/p>\n

European Commission: attacks on civilian shipping are unacceptable<\/h2>\n

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the attacks on civilian shipping in the Black Sea as unacceptable, Reuters reported. She highlighted the risks to merchant vessels and their crews.<\/p>\n

Sea water being tested near Kaliakra, Byala and Sozopol<\/h2>\n

Bulgaria\u2019s Environment Ministry ordered emergency sea-water sampling near Cape Kaliakra, Byala and Sozopol. The samples will be tested for petroleum products, polychlorinated biphenyls, metals and other indicators. No laboratory results have been published yet, so neither the presence nor the absence of pollution can be claimed at this stage.<\/p>\n

The National Security Council met on 7 October<\/h2>\n

On 7 October, the National Security Council met at the presidency to discuss maritime security and critical infrastructure, bTV reported. New details about European satellite support are in the next report on this story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong> Council of Ministers<\/a>, Ministry of Environment and Water<\/a>, BNT \u2013 rescued sailors in Varna<\/a>, BNT \u2013 Chief of Defence<\/a>, Reuters \u2013 European Commission position<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Updated on 7 October 2026 with information about the halted search and the National Security Council meeting.<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n

Additional sources: Reuters \u2013 search halted<\/a> \u00b7 bTV \u2013 developments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Archive illustration: a view of the Black Sea from Byala, Varna Province, on 18 August 2014. Photographer: Alexandru Panoiu. It does not depict the affected ships, the attack or the rescue operation. Original on Wikimedia Commons<\/a>. Licence CC BY 2.0<\/a>. Resized and cropped to 1200\u00d7675 pixels by 5000.news without stretching.<\/small><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bulgaria will not resume the search. The fate of the ALFA WATAN crew remains unknown.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,38],"tags":[40],"class_list":["post-1177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bulgaria","category-obshtestvo","tag-izbor-na-redaktora"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/5000.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/5000.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/5000.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/5000.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/5000.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1177"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/5000.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1262,"href":"https:\/\/5000.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1177\/revisions\/1262"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/5000.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/5000.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/5000.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/5000.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}