At a briefing at Chaika air base in Varna, Navy commander Rear Admiral Kiril Mihaylov said it is too early to say whether the drone-hit ship Able will sink. A Bulgarian vessel is at the scene, watching and surveying the area around Able and the second ship.

This report follows our earlier story on President Iliana Yotova cancelling her visit to Veliko Tarnovo after drones hit two ships in Bulgaria's economic zone in the Black Sea.

Mihaylov said the second vessel is a motor ship with no crew and no engine. It was abandoned 40 nautical miles east of the Bulgarian coast, north of Able. Both ships are in international waters and remain under watch.

Navy crews inspected Able from the outside yesterday, and colleagues from the fleet looked it over today. Mihaylov said the ship is tilted toward the stern because of a hole at the back, and has taken on water. The engine room is probably partly flooded, but he said that is only his guess. From the outside, the ship looks stable, and there is no spill around it. The aim now is to find out where the ships are and what state they are in.

Asked whether the Navy needs to rethink its approach, Mihaylov said no. He said the Navy trains for such tasks all the time, including in Breeze, its biggest exercise, and is now putting that training to use. He believes the guard on Bulgaria's coast is strong enough. Mihaylov said the Navy can help this time too, as it did with the tanker Kairos, when it evacuated crew members and delivered equipment so the ship could be safely anchored.

On the war in the Black Sea, Mihaylov said: "It is close to us, and today we destroyed another drone 15 nautical miles east of Sinemorets."

As long as Ukraine and Russia keep hitting each other with drones, more will keep turning up, the commander said. He said some drones that fall into the sea inevitably reach the Bulgarian coast with the wind and currents.

Turkish colleagues found the last mine in the Black Sea at the end of July.