A Russian-flagged tanker loaded with sunflower oil reported a drone attack off the Turkish coast yesterday, but its 13 crew members were unharmed, Turkiye’s maritime authority and the Tribeca shipping agency said.
The vessel, MIDVOLGA-2, reported coming under attack 130km off the Turkish coast but did not make a request for assistance and was proceeding towards Turkiye’s Sinop port, Turkiye’s Maritime Affairs Directorate said on X.
Tribeca said the ship had been attacked by a drone. It was not immediately clear who had attacked the ship and Turkiye’s Maritime Affairs Directorate did not provide additional details.
The maritime authority said the ship was sailing from Russia to Georgia, while Tribeca said it was bound for Mersin. Both said the ship was now en route to Sinop without assistance.
“The necessary messages were conveyed to the relevant parties, including Ukrainian authorities,” a Turkish official said when asked for comment, but gave no further details.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea were unacceptable, issuing a warning to “all related sides”.
Ukrainian naval drones last week hit two tankers sanctioned by Kyiv and some of its Western allies in the Black Sea as they headed to a Russian port to load oil destined for foreign markets, as it attempts to pile pressure on Russia’s oil sector.
However, Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said Ukraine was not involved in yesterday’s attack, that it made “no sense” to attack the ship given its route to Georgia, adding this “suggests that Russia may have staged the whole thing”.
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