Maritime.bg reported that the Turkish tug Timur Bey towed Kairos toward Bulgaria. The tow began December 3 with Tuzla as the initial destination, but the tug later altered course toward Bulgaria. After entering Bulgarian territorial waters, Timur Bey ended the tow, switched off its AIS and headed toward the Turkish port of Ineada. Bulgarian agencies did not mention this in their official statements. The outlet noted unanswered questions about why Bulgaria’s maritime surveillance did not react earlier to a 276-meter tanker being towed toward its coast.

According to Maritime.bg, Sofia is weighing whether to summon Turkey’s ambassador after a Turkish-flagged tug effectively left a damaged tanker off Bulgaria’s coast. An anonymous maritime security expert called the situation “an absolute provocation against Bulgaria,” noting a sanctioned, damaged vessel was towed not to a Turkish port but toward another country’s shoreline and left there without notifying the receiving state.