Drone attack damages Turkish tanker with Russian oil in Black Sea
Photo: Drone attacks Turkish tanker carrying Russian oil (Getty Images)
An unidentified drone attacked the Turkish tanker Altura carrying Russian oil in the Black Sea, causing an explosion, according to Bloomberg.
The Turkish tanker, loaded with crude oil, was targeted by a drone near Istanbul in the Black Sea.
The attack on the Altura occurred about 15 nautical miles (28 kilometers) from the Bosphorus Strait.
According to vessel-tracking data, the Suezmax-class tanker was carrying approximately 1 million barrels of Urals crude oil from Novorossiysk.
The Altura is subject to sanctions by the European Union and the United Kingdom, but not by the United States.
According to Turkish maritime outlet HaberDenizde, an explosion occurred on the ship’s bridge, and the engine room was flooded.
The damaged tanker is currently surrounded by three Turkish military vessels. An emergency response ship operated by the Turkish Coast Guard is also at the scene.
It is worth noting that since March 3, the Russian tanker Arctic Metagaz, carrying liquefied natural gas, has been on fire in the Mediterranean Sea. The vessel is under sanctions from the US and the UK, and the incident may have been caused by a maritime drone attack.
Russia described the drone strike on the Arctic Metagaz as “international terrorism” and blamed Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently stated that Ukraine is continuously developing naval drones and will soon deploy systems capable of operating even in ocean and underwater conditions.
