Two commercial vessels were attacked in Bulgaria's Black Sea economic zone, marking the first such shipping attack in the area

Drone attacks in October 2026 sank or damaged commercial vessels off Bulgaria and Romania, leaving sailors missing. The HS Dignity sank and Chelsea-3 was damaged near Bulgaria, leaving eleven seafarers missing, while the chemical tankers Wine Trader and Yara J were hit near Romania, leaving seven missing. Ukraine blamed Russia for the Bulgarian incidents, and Bulgaria's prime minister said Russian responsibility was likely but could not be proven. Romania confirmed drone involvement in the tanker attacks without attributing responsibility. A cargo vessel then sank near Romania after a drone strike, leaving one sailor dead and three missing, according to Romanian authorities. Bucharest blamed Russia, adding a new attribution to the wider campaign against Black Sea shipping; independent verification remains unavailable.