NATO boosts Black Sea surveillance amid attacks on shipping

NATO is deploying additional maritime patrol aircraft, drones and radar systems to the Black Sea following a series of deadly attacks on merchant shipping off Romania and Bulgaria.

The move follows a meeting of the alliance’s North Atlantic Council in Brussels on Tuesday, with members also sending intelligence personnel and explosives investigation teams to the region.

NATO military spokesman colonel Martin O’Donnell said the additional assets would strengthen surveillance and reconnaissance, with the emphasis on improving intelligence sharing and identifying threats to shipping.

Bulgaria has already confirmed that a US Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft has begun reconnaissance flights over the Black Sea following its request for assistance from NATO.

Bulgarian prime minister Rumen Radev said allies had responded quickly to Sofia’s appeal, with further support expected. Four merchant ships have been attacked in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone over the past month, two of which sank.

Allied specialists are also expected to help investigate the October 13 drone attack on the Malta-flagged general cargoship Chelsea 3 off Bulgaria. All 15 crewmembers were rescued, and investigators are examining recovered drone debris to establish the type of weapon used.

The latest NATO response comes after a string of attacks on commercial vessels, including two chemical tankers off Romania last week.

One of them, the Comoros-flagged Yara J, caught fire after a suspected drone strike inside Romanian territorial waters near the Sulina Canal. The crew managed to extinguish the blaze without outside assistance.

The attacks have increasingly threatened shipping routes serving Ukraine’s Danube and Black Sea ports, adding to pressure on grain exports and pushing war-risk insurance costs higher.

Russia’s defence ministry separately claimed on Tuesday that its forces had struck three cargo vessels at the Ukrainian port of Reni and another two heading towards Odesa, alleging that the ships were being used for military purposes.

NATO has not formally attributed the recent attacks off Romania and Bulgaria to Russia, which has denied responsibility for those incidents.

Despite the worsening security situation, Bulgarian authorities said commercial shipping to the Black Sea ports of Varna and Burgas was continuing, with no decline in vessel traffic reported.

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