Turkish officials said on Tuesday that the tanker Midvolga 2 was attacked in the Black Sea about 80 nautical miles from the Turkish coast after sailing from Russia.
Two other tankers were attacked by Ukrainian drones in the Black Sea on Friday as the Ukrainian military accused them of “covertly transporting Russian oil.”
According to the Turkish transportation directorate, the Midvolga 2 is a small oil and chemical tanker with a 13-man crew that was sailing from Russia to Georgia with a cargo of sunflower oil. The ship came under attack off the Turkish coast, but suffered no significant damage or injuries and has made no requests for assistance.
“The ship is proceeding toward Sinop with its engines,” the directorate said. Sinop is a Turkish port city on the Black Sea coast.
The corresponding Russian agency for sea travel, Rosmorrechflot, said the Midvolga 2 sustained “minor damage” from the attack, but was not experiencing any “water leaks.” Both Turkish and Russian officials said the attack was conducted by drones.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that “Ukraine has nothing to do with this incident” and accusations to the contrary were “Russian propaganda.”
“Furthermore, the alleged route from Russia to Georgia across Türkiye’s EEZ makes no sense — and suggests that Russia may have staged the whole thing,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry added.
Two similar drone attacks against tankers sailing from Russia across the Black Sea took place on Friday, and an oil tanker managed by a Turkish company carrying diesel fuel suffered four mysterious explosions on Monday off the coast of Senegal.
The two tankers struck by drones on Friday, named Kirat and Viros, were reportedly empty but bound for a Russian port to load with oil. Although no official claim of responsibility was made for the attack, an official with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) rather strongly implied in a statement to Reuters that Ukraine neutralized the tankers.
“Video shows that after being hit, both tankers sustained critical damage and were effectively taken out of service. This will deal a significant blow to Russian oil transportation,” the statement said.
An SBU source told Agence France-Presse (AFP) the Kirat and Viros were targeted by “modernized Sea Baby naval drones” because they were “covertly carrying Russian oil.” Independent sanctions watchdog group OpenSanctions has identified both vessels as part of Russia’s sanctions-evading “shadow fleet.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the Black Sea drone attacks as a “worrying escalation” on Friday.
“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. The Kirat and Viros were reportedly sailing inside Turkey’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) when they were attacked.
“The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has clearly reached a stage where it threatens the safety of navigation in the Black Sea,” Erdogan added. “We are issuing the necessary warnings to the parties concerned.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to the tanker attacks on Tuesday by threatening to intensify Russian strikes on Ukrainian ports and ships.
“If Black Sea attacks continue, we can cut off Ukraine from the sea,” Putin said.
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