An oil tanker en route to the Russian port of Novorossiysk has been attacked in the Black Sea, according to maritime news website Lloyd’s List.
The Palau-flagged ‘Elbus’ was sailing east about 30 nautical miles (55.5km) off the Turkish coastline on Wednesday when it “experienced an unmanned marine-vehicle and drone attack,” the outlet wrote on Thursday, citing its own intelligence data. The tanker diverted from its course and made a sharp turn towards the coast around the time of the attack.
According to Turkish media, the Coast Guard received a distress call from the ship and dispatched teams to the area, which escorted the vessel to the shore. The tanker is said to have been hit in its upper sections. No injuries or pollution have been reported. At the time of publication, no statement had been issued by Turkish or Russian authorities.
At least five commercial Russia-trading tankers have reportedly been attacked by suspected Ukrainian drones in the Black Sea since November. Two of them, both Gambian-flagged vessels, were struck off Türkiye’s coast while en route to Novorossiysk. The tankers had been previously sanctioned by Western states for transporting oil in violation of restrictions imposed on Russia since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
Moscow stated in November that the attacks represent a direct violation of the rights of the vessels’ owners and an encroachment on the sovereignty of Türkiye. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin views the incidents as serious and that such attacks could affect ongoing diplomatic efforts. Moscow has denied operating a “shadow fleet.”
Ankara has also voiced concern about the attacks, saying they occurred within its exclusive economic zone and posed “serious risks” to navigation and the environment.
While Kiev has not officially claimed responsibility for the strikes, several Ukrainian and Western news outlets have reported, citing sources, that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is behind them.
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