Black Sea tanker carrying Russian oil damaged in suspected sea drone attack

(Bloomberg) – A Turkish-operated tanker filled with Russian oil was targeted by a suspected sea-drone attack in the Black Sea early Thursday, Turkey’s Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said.

“We believe the engine room was specifically targeted,” Uraloglu told 24TV in a televised interview. “We think this was done with an unmanned marine vehicle,” he said, ruling out an aerial attack.

“Whether it was at the water level or below will be determined in the coming hours,” he added.

The Altura, a foreign-flagged vessel operated by a Turkish company, suffered engine damage following a blast after midnight that severely shook the ship’s bridge and disabled equipment there, Turkey’s Directorate General for Maritime Affairs told Bloomberg. There were no casualties among the 27-person crew and no oil spilled, the authority added.

The Suezmax-sized tanker was fully laden with about 1 MMbbl of Urals crude from Novorossiysk, Russia, ship-tracking data showed. Altura is sanctioned by the UK and the EU but not the US. The vessel was about 26 nautical miles from the mouth of the Bosphorus Strait, the maritime authority said.

The attack could be linked to the war in Ukraine, Uraloglu told 24TV, because “it is a vessel carrying oil, not dry cargo.”

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said such attacks, which occurred within the country’s exclusive economic zone, violate international law. Ankara also said it reserves the right to take necessary measures under international law to protect the country’s economic interests and is in contact with relevant parties to prevent further escalation.

Turkish government is concerned that the conflict could spread further into the Black Sea and threaten Russian natural gas shipments to Turkey. Russia said last week that it had repelled Ukrainian strikes on critical infrastructure serving the TurkStream and Blue Stream export pipelines to Turkey.

Meanwhile, oil revenues in Russia recently soared to levels not seen since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, as the Kremlin takes advantage of higher prices and eased sanctions stemming from the Iran war to boost crude flows.

Russia-connected oil tankers have been targeted within Turkey’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea several times in the past year. Ankara has repeatedly cautioned Ukraine and Russia to refrain from threatening safety and navigation in the waterway.

Two weeks ago, a Greek oil tanker was damaged by a projectile or drone in the Black Sea en route to Russia.