NATO Steps Up Black Sea Deployment After Drone Attacks on Vessels

NATO announced it would send additional resources to the Black Sea, including more maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems and drones, following a series of deadly drone attacks on vessels in the region. The decision was made after a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, and adds to the deployment of intelligence officers and explosive forensic analysis teams.

The attacks were concentrated in recent weeks off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria. Last week, seven seafarers were reported missing after drones struck two chemical tankers near the Romanian coast, including the Comoros-flagged Yara J, which caught fire near the Sulina canal, although the crew managed to bring the blaze under control without outside assistance. In the previous ten days, at least five other cargo vessels were hit near Romania and Bulgaria, leaving at least 23 seafarers missing or dead. An attack on October 13 against the Malta-flagged general cargo vessel Chelsea 3, whose 15 crew members were rescued, is also under investigation.

The deployment came after Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev requested NATO assistance amid the rise in attacks off his country's coast. Bulgaria confirmed that a US Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft had already begun reconnaissance flights over the Black Sea in response to that request, and Radev stated that allies responded quickly and that he expects further support. Four merchant vessels were reportedly attacked in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone over the past month, two of which sank.

NATO did not formally attribute the attacks to any country, although military analysts maintain that Russia almost certainly carried them out, something Moscow has not acknowledged. Romania, Bulgaria and NATO itself pointed to Russia, and the European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, noted that six attacks took place in just ten days as part of a Russian attempt to prevent Ukrainian grain from leaving the Black Sea in order to hurt Kyiv's revenues. Kallas stressed that disrupting grain shipments also harms drought-affected regions suffering from food shortages. Russia, for its part, separately stated that its forces had struck cargo vessels at the Ukrainian port of Reni and others bound for Odesa, claiming they were being used for military purposes.

The attacks have heightened the threat to the routes supplying Ukraine's Danube and Black Sea ports, putting pressure on grain exports and raising war-risk insurance costs. Despite the deteriorating security situation, Bulgarian authorities said commercial traffic to the ports of Varna and Burgas continued without any drop in vessel transit.