Environment Ministry: First tests of Bulgaria’s Black Sea waters do not show any pollution from ships hit in drone attacks

The results of the seawater tests carried out so far do not show any pollution related to the ship incidents in the Black Sea in October, Bulgaria’s Environment Ministry said.

This is indicated by the data from the samples taken on October 23 from the coastal points of Kaliakra and Byala, which were received by the Black Sea Basin Directorate, the ministry said.

The samples were taken, however, before the sinking of the container ship Contship Jet on October 28.

The Environment Ministry said that from the first tests, a slight excess of the norm for nitrate nitrogen was registered in the Byala region, which it said could not be linked to the ship incidents in the Black Sea. Exceedances of the other indicators checked were not found.

During the on-site inspections, the Black Sea Basin Directorate offiials did not detect visible water pollution or the presence of opalescence.

The results of the tritium tests in samples taken from the Byala, Kaliakra and Sozopol points on October 9 and 14, 2026 have also been received. The established values do not exceed the legally permissible levels, the ministry said.

The results of the tests of a sample from the Sozopol coastal point, taken on October 23 samples from the coastal waters, taken on October 26 from the Ropotamo 1 and Tsarevo 1 points, as well as samples from the Durankulak, Shabla, Kaliakra, Byala and Sozopol coastal points, taken on October 29 are awaited, the Environment Ministry said.

New sampling is planned from the coastal points of Durankulak, Shabla, Kaliakra, Byala and Sozopol on November 5, it said.

A total of five ships were hit in the Black Sea exclusive economic zone, with three of them – Alfa Watan, HS Dignity and Contship Jet – sinking. Recent days have seen incidents of containers, believed to be from the Contship Jet, being spotted drifing in the Black Sea, with the fate of the majority of the containers unknown.

(Archive photo of the Able, one of the five ships hit in drone attacks off Bulgaria’s coast: Ministry of Defence)