Erdoğan condemns attack on Russian shadow fleet tankers in Black Sea
Photo: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Türkiye (Getty Images)
Türkiye considers an attack on Russian shadow fleet tankers unacceptable. It is an escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, according to Reuters.
"The war between Russia and Ukraine has clearly begun to threaten navigational safety in the Black Sea. The targeting of vessels in our Exclusive Economic Zone on Friday signals a worrying escalation," Erdoğan said.
He added that such attacks cannot be justified "in any way."
"We are conveying the necessary warnings to all relevant sides regarding such incidents," the Turkish President added.
Incident in the Black Sea
On November 28, two tankers belonging to Russia's shadow fleet caught fire near the Bosporus Strait in the Black Sea.
According to Türkiye's Ministry of Transport, an explosion occurred on the tanker Kairos, causing a fire while it was en route from Egypt to the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
Turkish authorities reported that the tanker had been subjected to an "external impact."
Another tanker, Virat, was damaged approximately 35 nautical miles off the Turkish coast.
The following day, November 29, RBC-Ukraine sources reported that Ukrainian SBU naval drones, Sea Baby, successfully hit the two sanctioned tankers, Kairos and Virat, in the Black Sea. Both vessels are part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet.
The upgraded Sea Baby drones, capable of long distances and equipped with enhanced warheads, were used in the attack. Both tankers sustained critical damage and are effectively out of operation, hitting Russia's oil transport capacity.
Sources said the ships were empty and heading to Novorossiysk to load cargo at the time of the attack. Such strikes limit Russia's financial capacity to wage war, as the tankers could have carried nearly $70 million worth of oil and were used to bypass international sanctions.
