ZIM vessel sinks in Black Sea after being hit by 3 suicide boat drones; no injuries

A vessel chartered by Israel’s ZIM Integrated Shipping Services sank overnight after it was hit by three maritime drones off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, the local maritime administration said Thursday.

The incident is the latest in a string of suspected Russian attacks in the region, against the backdrop of neighboring NATO countries’ support for Ukraine.

The suicide boat drones struck the Liberian-flagged container ship Contship Jet about 21 nautical miles off the coast of Bulgaria on Wednesday, the country’s defense minister, Dimitar Stoyanov, said. It was the fifth drone attack in the NATO nation’s exclusive economic zone this month.

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The crew aboard the container ship, which departed from Haifa en route to Constanta in Romania, was rescued and safely evacuated, ZIM said in a statement.

All 18 crew members, 14 Filipinos and four Ukrainians, were rescued by Bulgarian naval and border police vessels and taken to the port city of Varna for medical checks.

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Footage posted to social media appeared to show one of the drones streaking through the water before it began to turn toward the vessel. Additional footage captured the ship tipping into the water and beginning to sink.

The 421 containers carrying high-value cargo were lost at sea. Some of the containers were carrying lithium-ion batteries, flammable liquids, gases and other hazardous materials, the site maritime.bg reported. Navy teams reportedly found no signs of pollution after taking samples from several locations in Bulgarian territorial waters.

The incident took place as defense ministers from Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey met in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, to discuss security in the Black Sea region.

In a statement after the talks, the three NATO countries strongly condemned the drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea, and called for an “immediate cessation of attacks that threaten commercial ships, maritime infrastructure and the safety of maritime activities.”

They also agreed on stronger intelligence sharing, early warning capabilities and coordination in the Black Sea.

A string of such incidents off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria this month has led some alliance members to wonder if Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to test their support for Ukraine in its war against Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

Russia has not taken responsibility for the recent attacks, but suspicion has fallen on Moscow. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev told his country’s Parliament earlier this month that “the logic points in that direction … The problem is that we cannot prove it.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte wrote earlier this month on X that the alliance had “strengthened our posture along the eastern flank including with increasing counter-drone capabilities” in the face of frequent strikes on commercial vessels.

ZIM union chief: Attack shows company shouldn’t be sold to German firm

In response to the incident, the head of ZIM’s workers’ union argued on Thursday that it was proof the company should remain in Israeli hands, rather than be sold to German shipping line Hapag-Lloyd, as has been proposed.

Hapag-Lloyd agreed earlier this year to acquire Israel’s ZIM for $4.2 billion, but the deal remains subject to government approvals.

“In the face of boycotts and security threats — amidst global political instability — it is imperative to ensure that ZIM remains an Israeli company,” said Oren Caspi. “Much remains unknown regarding this unusual attack, and we are still in the process of gathering the details.”

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