ISTANBUL, March 26 (Reuters) – A marine drone struck a crude oil tanker that had departed Russia, causing an explosion in the Black Sea near Istanbul’s Bosphorus strait on Thursday, Turkey’s transportation minister said.
Turkey condemned the attack, which it said targeted a Turkish-operated vessel.
“The attack on the Sierra Leone-flagged, Turkish-operated tanker ALTURA carrying crude oil is of great concern,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said on X, adding that the 27 crew members were in good health.
The incident, one of several in recent months involving Western-sanctioned vessels heading to or from Russian ports, occurred in the early hours, Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu told broadcaster Kanal 24.
He said the coastguard had been dispatched to the vessel, which was about 18 nautical miles (33 km) from the Bosphorus, a key commodities-shipping channel linking the Black Sea with the Marmara and the Mediterranean.
The attack, just outside Turkish territorial waters, likely aimed to disable the engine room in the vessel, Uraloglu said.
Ship-tracking and Refinitiv AIS data showed the vessel had left Russia’s port of Novorossiysk with about 1 million barrels of crude oil and appeared almost fully laden.
The ship is sanctioned by the European Union and Britain.
Keceli said the attack took place within Turkey’s exclusive economic zone and violated international law, warning such incidents posed serious risks to life, property, navigation and the environment in the Black Sea.
He added that Turkey was in contact with relevant parties to prevent further escalation and reserved the right to take necessary measures under international law to protect its economic interests and activities in the region.
Turkey’s defence ministry said it was closely monitoring risks posed in the Black Sea by drones, given their extensive use in the Russia-Ukraine war. Risks included drones losing control or mobility, drifting towards the Turkish coast, it said.
Late last year, shipping insurance rates rose after Ukrainian naval drones hit Russia-bound tankers in the Black Sea, prompting Moscow to threaten retaliation and NATO-member Turkey to urge calm.
Ankara has warned both Kyiv and Moscow against carrying out such attacks near its territorial waters amid earlier escalation in the Black Sea, which saw Russian and Turkish vessels hit by drones and Ukrainian ports damaged.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow or Kyiv on Thursday.
The registered owner of the vessel is China-based Sea Grace Shipping Ltd and the manager is Turkey-based Pergamon Denizcilik, according to Refinitiv data. Reuters could not immediately contact Pergamon.
(Reporting by Can Sezer, Tuvan Gumrukcu and Daren Butler. Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Mark Potter and Arun Koyyur)
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