NATO sends more surveillance to Black Sea after drone attacks on ships off Bulgaria
NATO's North Atlantic Council discussed security off Bulgaria and Romania. The alliance will send patrol aircraft, radars and drones, plus experts to analyse the explosives used in the attacks.
Symbolic image · Photo: Balon Greyjoy / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped and resized)
NATO is stepping up its presence in the Black Sea. After a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels on Tuesday, alliance spokesperson Allison Hart said on X that allies were sending additional forces and resources to the region, "including for surveillance, reconnaissance and forensics". According to Reuters, as cited by bTV and 24 Chasa, this includes more maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems and drones. Hart said NATO had already reinforced its eastern flank, including its counter-drone capabilities.
The move follows a series of drone strikes on merchant ships off the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania. On Oct. 13, the vessels Chelsea 3 and Dignity were hit in Bulgaria's contiguous zone, about 17 nautical miles off Varna, and one of them sank. Reuters reported that at least 23 seafarers have been killed or are missing in the attacks of recent weeks. NATO says it has not yet established who is behind them. Moscow has not claimed responsibility.
Bulgaria had asked its allies for help. According to BNT, a U.S. Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft is patrolling the western Black Sea, while two unmanned systems monitor Bulgarian territorial waters. Allied teams are to analyse debris from the drone, believed to have been found aboard the Chelsea 3, to determine the type and origin of the explosive. Authorities said shipping traffic to the ports of Varna and Burgas has not declined.