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Türkiye expressed concern on Saturday after two commercial tankers were attacked in the Black Sea, warning that the incidents pose serious risks to regional safety and stability.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said the attacks targeted the Gambia-flagged oil tankers KAIROS and VIRAT within Türkiye’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), raising alarm over navigation safety and environmental security.
“These incidents that occurred within our Exclusive Economic Zone in the Black Sea have posed serious risks to navigation, life, property, and environmental safety in the region,” Keceli said in a statement posted on the social media platform X.
He added that Ankara continues its contacts with relevant parties to prevent the Russia-Ukraine war from spreading across the Black Sea and to avoid any negative impact on Türkiye’s economic interests and regional activities.
Türkiye’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministry confirmed Saturday that the tanker VIRAT was struck again early in the morning by an unmanned maritime vehicle, hours after reporting the initial explosion Friday evening.
“The Virat, which was previously said to have been attacked by unmanned maritime vehicles approximately 35 nautical miles off the Black Sea coastline, was attacked again by unmanned maritime vehicles early this morning,” the ministry said.
It said the vessel sustained “minor damage” to its starboard side and that all 20 crew members were unharmed.
On Friday, the ministry initially reported that two tankers, VIRAT and KAIROS, had suffered explosions in Turkish waters but provided no cause. Saturday’s update marked the first official confirmation that a drone was involved in the attack on VIRAT.
The KAIROS, which was en route to Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, was struck around 1500 GMT on Friday, according to Turkish officials. A fire broke out following the blast, and all 25 crew members were evacuated by rescue teams.
The vessel was approximately 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of the entrance to the Bosphorus Strait when the explosion occurred. Hours later, the VIRAT was struck while positioned some 400 kilometers further east, according to vessel tracking data.
Dramatic images released by the Maritime Affairs Directorate showed flames and thick black smoke pouring from the KAIROS, with the fire continuing to rage five hours after the initial blast.
The directorate said VIRAT later reported being “hit approximately 35 nautical miles offshore,” with heavy smoke detected in the engine room. No evacuation was requested, and the 20 crew members remained safe.
The KAIROS attack coincided with a separate naval drone strike on the Novorossiysk oil terminal, according to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which operates the facility.
Part of the terminal sustained “significant damage,” prompting a halt in operations. The terminal is a key conduit for Kazakh oil exports.
CPC did not specify who was responsible for the drone attack. Ukraine, which has frequently targeted Russian energy infrastructure, has not commented on the latest incident.
Speaking to Turkish broadcaster NTV late Friday, Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said the tankers were likely hit by “external impacts,” possibly caused by a mine, a drone, or an unmanned underwater vehicle.
“An external impact means the vessel was hit by a mine, a rocket, or a similar projectile, or perhaps by a drone, or by an unmanned underwater vehicle. These are the first things that come to mind,” he said.
Both the KAIROS and the VIRAT are flying Gambian flags and are reportedly subject to Western sanctions for transporting Russian oil in violation of embargoes imposed after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Since the start of the war, both Russia and Ukraine have deployed sea mines to protect their coastlines. Many of these have drifted or detached, especially during storms, posing a hazard to commercial navigation.
In response, NATO allies Türkiye, Bulgaria and Romania established the Mine Countermeasures Naval Group (MCM Black Sea) in 2024 to oversee de-mining operations and safeguard shipping routes in the region.
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