Third Russian tanker attacked in the Black Sea, Turkey says

A tanker said to be carrying sunflower oil from Russia to Georgia has been attacked in the Black Sea, Turkish authorities said on Tuesday, days after two sanctioned oil tankers linked to Moscow's "shadow fleet" were hit by Ukrainian naval drones.

The Russian-flagged vessel, MIDVOLGA-2, came under attack about 130 kilometres off the Turkish coast, according to the Maritime Affairs Directorate.

It did not make a request for assistance and was heading toward the Turkish port of Sinop, the authority said in a statement on X.

The tanker's 13 crew members were not harmed. According to Turkish broadcaster NTV, the attack was carried out with a kamikaze drone.

The incident followed drone attacks by Ukraine on two Russian vessels, the Kairos and Virat, on Friday inside Turkey’s exclusive economic zone. The crews of the two ships were rescued thanks to the rapid intervention of the coast guard and rescue units.

The ships are on the list of those subject to international sanctions, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and have been identified by the OpenSanctions database as part of the Kremlin's shadow fleet.

The term refers to the hundreds of old cargo ships used by Moscow to circumvent restrictions on Russian crude oil.

Ukraine has carried out successful naval strikes against Russian shipping during Moscow's war, particularly using explosives-packed marine drones. However, Ukrainian missions have previously largely been limited to the waters of the northern Black Sea.

On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke out against Ukraine's strikes on the Kairos and Virat, saying it amounted to a "worrying escalation" of the conflict.

"We cannot condone these attacks, which threaten navigational safety, life, and the environment, especially in our own exclusive zone," Erdoğan said in a televised address. "We are issuing the necessary warnings to all parties regarding such situations."

NATO member Turkey has maintained close ties with Russia and Ukraine during the nearly four-year war. It hosted low-level talks between Ukraine and Russia earlier this year, yet the only significant progress in Istanbul was on exchanging prisoners of war.