Black Sea tension over attacks on commercial ships comes to NATO’s attention

A coordinated air-and-sea drone attack on merchant ships in the Black Sea this week will be dealt with at NATO headquarters, Bulgarian officials said. Bulgarian authorities take an injured crew member to a hospital after two commercial vessels were attacked in the NATO member’s Black Sea economic zone on Oct. 6, 2026. (Bulgarian News Agency via AP) A coordinated air-and-sea drone attack on two merchant ships in the Black Sea this week 80 miles from the coast of Bulgaria will be dealt with at NATO headquarters, according to the country’s government. “These issues are being brought to NATO’s leadership, where it will be decided how and what the response should be,” Prime Minister Rumen Radev told Bulgarian National Television on Tuesday.

The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan suffered severe damage and sank, Bulgarian authorities said. Its crew remains unaccounted for, and by Wednesday, search-and-rescue efforts had ended. The crew of the Palau-flagged Able was recovered by a nearby Bulgarian ship. NATO has yet to issue a public statement on the matter. The attack early Tuesday involved both airborne and maritime drones, Bulgarian military officials said. The situation poses a heightened threat to commercial shipping as the Russia-Ukraine war increasingly spills into the Black Sea. In July, the NATO Shipping Center said it was aware of a rise in attacks on commercial shipping.