Storm off Krapets: Bulgaria ends search for sailors from sunken HS Dignity
Gusts of up to 72 km/h and sea state 5 halted the rescue effort for the freighter sunk by a drone. The Transport Ministry declared the operation officially over.
Archive image · Photo: Svilen Enev / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Bulgaria has officially ended the search-and-rescue operation for the crew of the freighter HS Dignity, which sank in the Black Sea. The Transport Ministry announced the decision on Wednesday afternoon. The Guinea-Bissau-flagged vessel was hit by a drone and sank about 17 nautical miles east of Shabla.
The search resumed in the morning with a navy vessel but was suspended in the early afternoon after a sharp turn in the weather, with north-northeasterly gusts of up to 72 km/h, precipitation and sea state 5. According to the daily Sega, 11 sailors remain missing; four rescued crew members reached Varna on Tuesday.
In Tuesday's second attack, on the Maltese-flagged freighter Chelsea 3 off Byala, all 15 crew members were rescued. Prime Minister Rumen Radev called the new drone attacks "absolutely unacceptable."
Sources
- BTA, Прекратена е операцията по издирване и спасяване на моряците от потъналия в Черно море кораб „Ейч Ес Дигнити“, 14.10.2026
- bTV, Прекратена е операцията по издирване и спасяване на моряците от потъналия край Крапец кораб HS Dignity, 14.10.2026
- Sega, Вълнението спря операцията по издирването на моряци край Крапец, 14.10.2026