The tug Aliot is heading back to the port of Burgas without the ship Chelsea-3, which it was sent to tow. The mission has been called off, at least for now.

This story follows our earlier report on the two merchant ships hit by drones in the Black Sea near Bulgarian waters.

The tug left this morning and reached Chelsea-3 at about 12:40pm, but did not start to attach the tow line. It is now sailing north-west, back to port, at about 6-7 knots (11-13 km/h).

No official reason has been given for why the crew gave up. It is believed the towing was judged too dangerous. A strong north wind has blown since the morning, raising big waves and risking accidents. It is not expected to ease before dusk, so the operation is in effect impossible today.

The Maritime Administration Executive Agency began the operation after the ship started to drift. The tug Aliot and the boat Spasitel 2 were to take control of the ship, tow it and bring it to Burgas. The agency is monitoring the situation in real time to keep shipping safe and protect the environment.

Chelsea-3 is a motor ship under the Maltese flag. Drones hit it in the early hours of 13 October, 17 nautical miles east of Byala, as it sailed empty from the Turkish Black Sea port of Giresun to the port of Giurgiulesti. The 15-member crew was rescued. The ship was left at anchor in open sea but later began to drift.

Bad weather pushed it south from where it was left, and it is now inside the 12-mile zone east of Primorsko. Its course is shifting from south-south-west to south and south-south-east, so there is no danger to the Bulgarian coast. The ship is about 50 km from Turkish territorial waters and, if it holds its course, will reach them in 48 hours at most.

Zdravko Vasilev called the operation insane and advised the state to let the ship drift with the current towards Turkey. He said that in Turkish waters crews with more experience and better equipment would take it and bring it safely to the nearest port.

An expert said Turkey is a NATO member and has the biggest army in the alliance after the US, so it can more easily establish where the attack came from. Turkish specialists would check the hull and engine room for drone debris, while Bulgaria has no such experience.

Prime minister Rumen Radev reported new drone attacks on ships in the Black Sea on Tuesday. Seven days before them, sea and air drones hit two merchant ships in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. The Togo-flagged ship sank, and a Bulgarian ferry evacuated the 18-member crew of the Palau-flagged ship.