Drones sank a ship off the Bulgarian coast and the crew vanished: the war has knocked on NATO's door

At around 3 am, roughly 70 nautical miles east of Byala, two merchant ships in the Black Sea were hit by drones. The "Alfa Vatan", flying the flag of Togo, sank. The "Able", flying the flag of Palau, caught fire. According to available information, this is the first attack of its kind on ships in the exclusive economic zone of a NATO member.

From the ship that sank - not a trace of the crew. The Bulgarian ro-ro ship "Dioskuria", which was nearby, headed to the scene after the first explosion. There it found one capsized boat, three capsized life rafts and life jackets. Not a single person. "Nobody from the first ship has been found, the crew has vanished," said Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev.

On the second ship, luck was different. All 18 crew members abandoned ship when the fire broke out and were picked up by the "Dioskuria". One of them has severe burns, another a head injury - they were taken by fast boat for treatment at the Military Medical Academy in Varna. Most of the crew are Turkish citizens; the rest are from India.

Drones with no return address

Where did the drones come from? For now nobody knows - and nobody has been blamed. Radev spoke of "coordinated attacks" with "naval and aerial drones", which the crews confirmed. "This is a completely unacceptable attack, a gross violation of international law and of the rules of maritime traffic," he said at an emergency meeting with the ministries of defence, interior, transport and environment and the security services.

Just a day earlier, at least one drone struck a Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying grain across the Black Sea - and that ship also sank after a fire. The "Able" was also carrying wheat, heading south. Two grain ships in two days: coincidence, or a pattern nobody wants to name out loud?

"This war has been going on for a long time. If it doesn't end in time, it will keep expanding its geographical reach and increasing the risk of a global conflict," Radev warned. He added that navigating the Black Sea is becoming ever harder and insurance costs are rising. Bulgarian services are also carrying out reconnaissance over possible pollution of the sea.

From Macedonia, the Black Sea sounds far away. It isn't. Bulgaria is a neighbour we share a border with, a member of the EU and NATO. If nameless drones are already sinking ships in its economic zone and a crew can vanish without a trace - how solid, really, is the NATO umbrella that Macedonia has also stood under since 2020?