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A Turkish-flagged vessel, identified as the MV Gulluk, was reportedly struck by a drone off the Russian port of Novorossiysk, according to maritime monitoring account The Maritime Voice and accounts shared with Türkiye Today by people identifying themselves as relatives and colleagues of crew members.
According to The Maritime Voice, the drone struck the ship's living quarters.
The account said no crew members were reported injured or killed in the attack, and that the Gulluk had since set course for Istanbul.
The Maritime Voice described the incident as part of a continuing pattern of attacks on Turkish-flagged vessels in the Black Sea.
Separately, people identifying themselves as relatives and colleagues of crew members shared accounts with Türkiye Today describing the moments after the reported strike.
One person said their father was aboard the ship and that contact had been lost after he reported the vessel had been hit. "We're currently unable to reach my father on the ship. He said the ship was hit, then the line cut off. I've since spoken with him, the ship immediately set off toward Istanbul. They're heading back; no one on board was harmed," the person said.
A second person, describing themselves as a friend of a crew member aboard the Gulluk, said: "News came from my friend who works on the Gulluk. It was hit. It will be towed to the shipyard. No deaths."
Publicly available vessel-registry information cited alongside the reports identifies the Gulluk as a bulk carrier built in 2002, sailing under the Turkish flag, with IMO number 9228100 and MMSI number 271044383.
The reported strike on the Gulluk would be the latest in a series of drone attacks on Turkish-owned or Turkish-flagged commercial vessels transiting the Black Sea and Russian ports in recent months.
Türkiye's Directorate General of Maritime Affairs said a Ro-Ro cargo ship, the Nadezhda, was struck by a drone about 20 nautical miles off Novorossiysk on Aug. 3 while sailing from Novorossiysk to Samsun, with three of its 22 crew members, 13 of them Turkish nationals, reported to be in serious condition before all were evacuated to Novorossiysk by Russian maritime units.
Türkiye's Foreign Ministry separately said two civilian vessels, the Yasar and the Nadezhda, were attacked after leaving Novorossiysk, and that it was "deeply concerned about the escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea, which is affecting civilian shipping despite our numerous warnings."
Earlier in the same period, the Turkish-flagged bulk carrier Reyhan Sari was struck by a drone while sailing from Russia's Taman port to Trabzon, killing one crew member and wounding three others.
Ukraine has targeted Russian-flagged vessels and Russia-linked shipping in the Black Sea throughout the war, accusing Moscow of using the waterway to transport sanctioned goods, while Russia has separately struck Ukrainian port infrastructure and vessels, attacks Kyiv has described as war crimes.
Neither the Ukrainian nor Russian government has commented on the reported attack on the Gulluk specifically.
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