Maritime attack
Drones sink cargo ship Alfa Watan and set the Able on fire off Bulgaria; Alfa Watan crew missing
Black Sea, about 70 nautical miles east of Byala (Bulgarian exclusive economic zone), Bulgaria06 Oct 2026 · event dateapproximate location You are viewing revision 1 as published on 13 Oct 2026. The dossier text, evidence states, claims and sources of this revision are fixed; catalogue context such as cost estimates is not shown here. View the current version
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said sea and aerial drones hit two Turkish-owned cargo ships about 70 nautical miles off Bulgaria's coast early on 6 October 2026. The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan sank at the scene; the Palau-flagged Able caught fire and its 18 crew members were evacuated.
AttributionNot established
What we know
A Bulgarian ferry and a naval fast boat evacuated all 18 crew members of the Able; two were seriously injured and flown to hospital in Varna. The Alfa Watan sank within minutes. Media reports put its crew at 10 to 12, a number Bulgarian authorities did not confirm; Bulgaria called off the search on 7 October after finding an overturned lifeboat, three life rafts and debris. Early figures from Romania's interior ministry of two deaths and 11 people rescued were not confirmed by Bulgarian officials.
Drone involvement rests on the statement of Bulgaria's prime minister, whose country is not a party to the war, reported by Al Jazeera with AFP and AP; The Maritime Executive and Novinite report the ships, the rescue and the search. Sources give the distance from the coast as 70 to 80 nautical miles; The Maritime Executive gives the Alfa Watan's registry as Tonga rather than Togo.
What remains unknown
Who launched the drones is not established. The number of crew on the Alfa Watan and their fate were not confirmed, and no drone remains were reported found.
Operator attribution: Not established. Not established. Russia's embassy in Bulgaria said the ships were not on the Russian Defence Ministry's target list and called for an investigation. Bulgaria has not assigned blame; President Iliana Yotova called on both Russia and Ukraine to stop attacks on merchant ships.
How the story changed
The Alfa Watan's distress beacon signalled at about 02:30 local time; the Able's crew reported a fire after a strike on the stern at about 03:30. [2]
Prime Minister Radev said sea and aerial drones hit two commercial vessels about 70 nautical miles off the coast and called it a blatant violation of international and maritime law. [1]
Bulgaria called off the search for the Alfa Watan's crew after finding an overturned lifeboat, three life rafts and debris; Russia's embassy denied the ships were Russian targets. [2]
Editorial changes
- Revision 1 · 13 Oct 2026Curated dossier created after checking the cited sources line by line.
Cite this dossier
DroneLedger. “Drones sink cargo ship Alfa Watan and set the Able on fire off Bulgaria; Alfa Watan crew missing.” Dossier alfa-watan-able-drone-attack-off-bulgaria-2026-10-06, revision 1, updated 13 Oct 2026. https://droneincidents.com/incident/alfa-watan-able-drone-attack-off-bulgaria-2026-10-06/
Cite the revision you used: later revisions may change evidence states.
Curated dossier · sources checked line by line on 13 Oct 2026
Dossier updated 13 Oct 2026 Editorial pack (print / PDF)Follow this dossier (feed)Earlier versions