Turkey says sunflower oil tanker reports 'attack' in Black Sea

ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey on Tuesday said another tanker had reported coming under attack in the Black Sea while enroute to Georgia, without sustaining any injuries.

The incident took place just days after two other tankers were hit by explosions off the Turkish coast.

A Ukrainian security source claimed responsibility for those attacks, telling AFP drones had hit vessels that were “covertly transporting Russian oil”.

The latest incident on Tuesday morning hit the Midvolga 2, which “reported that it was attacked 80 nautical miles off our coast,” Turkey’s maritime affairs directorate wrote on X, saying the tanker was “sailing from Russia to Georgia loaded with sunflower oil” with 13 crew on board.

“The ship, which currently has no adverse conditions among its 13 personnel, has no request for assistance,” it said.

The vessel was heading towards the port of Sinop, which lies in the central area of Turkey’s Black Sea coast which stretches some 1,600 kilometres along the southern flank of the sea.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had on Monday criticised drone attacks as a “worrying escalation”.

“We cannot under any circumstances accept these attacks, which threaten the safety of navigation, the environment and lives in our exclusive economic zone,” he said of the initial drone attacks which took place on Friday.

“The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has clearly reached a stage where it threatens the safety of navigation in the Black Sea.”