Russian attacks on commercial vessels off the Black Sea’s western coast are on the rise, threatening to add strain to already-choked trade flows in the region.
“Commercial ships — and innocent crews — are being targeted, with lives already lost at sea,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X on Tuesday.
Two general cargo ships were hit by air and naval drones in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone overnight, Prime Minister Rumen Radev told reporters on Tuesday. A commercial vessel loaded with rapeseed oil was also damaged by a Russian drone strike that killed one person on Tuesday, Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.
The attacks reflect how the Black Sea is becoming an increasingly precarious corridor for agricultural trade, raising concerns over how crops from two of the world’s biggest exporters — Russia and Ukraine — will reach global buyers. It also risks further driving up transportation costs already under pressure from the attacks as well as the Iran war.
Ports along the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts, including Constanta, Varna and Burgas, have provided important alternatives for traders navigating disruptions elsewhere in the region. Growing risks around those routes threaten to narrow those options further, with potential consequences for freight costs and grain prices.
A cargo vessel also caught fire and sank Monday in Romania’s exclusive economic zone, with two crew members found dead. The ship that carried corn was Turkish-owned and hit by two Russian drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The overnight attack “absolutely unacceptable” and in violation of international law and maritime practice, Radev told reporters. “What is happening hampers severely shipping in the Black Sea, drives up insurance costs even further, and makes maritime operations extremely difficult.”
Radev later said the source of the attack is still unknown, but the drones were “either Ukrainian or Russian.” He said he has informed European leaders and NATO of the case.
A passing Bulgarian ferry saved the 18 crew members of the ship sailing under the flag of Palau that caught fire, which Radev said was carrying wheat.
The other ship struck in the overnight attack sank with no information on its crew or its cargo. A search and rescue operation for the crew of the Togolese-flagged vessel is ongoing.
Bulgarian authorities are monitoring another ship drifting off the Bulgarian coast, hit in August and without crew, he said. Authorities may take action if it reaches territorial waters.
Madeleine Overgaard, senior manager for agriculture data at Kpler, said that both vessels hit in the overnight attack were sailing to or from Ukrainian ports. There’s no clear evidence of a direct threat to ships using the major Bulgarian and Romanian ports, she said.
“Still, the attacks widen the high-risk area. Ships may now face greater risks as soon as they enter the Black Sea, rather than only when approaching Ukrainian ports,” Overgaard said.
Photograph: Ships anchored at the Tsemesskaya Buhhta of the Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port, in Russia in January 2026; photo credit: Vitaly Timkiv/SPTNK/Getty Images
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