France Extends Maritime Patrol Plane’s Stay in Black Sea After Cargo Ship Attacks

The Liberian-flagged container ship Contship Jet at sea, October 28, 2026. The ship sank after being hit by naval drones in the Black Sea off Bulgaria on Wednesday, according to the Bulgarian government, while en route from Haifa in Israel to Constanta in Romania. French Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO NEW USES AFTER NOVEMBER 29, 2026. VERIFICATION: The Contship Jet and unmanned surface vehicle both matched verified corroborating videos. The date when the photographs were taken was verified by corroborating visuals from October 28 which show the same layout of containers on the ship's deck and the way in which it was listing. There was a statement by Bulgarian Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov saying that a container ship was struck off the coast of Bulgaria on October 28. The vessel's last tracked location was off the coast of Bulgaria at the coordinates: 43.2563, 28.8108, at 10:47 GMT on October 28, according to ship tracking data.

MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, Romania, Nov 5 (Reuters) – A French maritime patrol aircraft deployed to Romania to bolster surveillance after a series of deadly strikes on merchant ships in the Black Sea on the edge of NATO’s eastern flank will extend its stay by several weeks, its commander said on Thursday.

The attacks have shown how the escalating maritime war between Russia and Ukraine is expanding into a major challenge for NATO in the Black Sea that has left member states such as Romania and Bulgaria exposed.

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