Second Attack on Black Sea Tanker Linked to Unmanned Naval Drones

Turkey’s Transport Ministry has reported that one of the two vacant oil tankers that experienced explosions in the Black Sea late Friday was struck again early Saturday, attributing the incident to an unmanned sea vehicle.

«The Virat, which had initially been reported as attacked by unmanned maritime vehicles approximately 35 nautical miles off the Black Sea coast, was targeted again by such vehicles this morning,» the ministry stated on X.

The ministry indicated that the tanker only incurred «minor damage» on its starboard side and that all 20 crew members were unharmed.

On Friday night, the Transport Ministry announced that two empty oil tankers, the Virat and the Kairos, had reported explosions, but fortunately, there were no casualties. They confirmed that the attacks occurred in Turkish waters without specifying the cause of the blasts.

This announcement was the first official acknowledgment that the Virat had been struck by drones.

Turkey reported that the Kairos was headed toward the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, where a significant Russian oil terminal ceased operations early Saturday following a naval drone assault, as stated by the terminal’s owning consortium.

The terminal, which suffered «significant damage,» is a crucial channel for Kazakh oil, reported the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), without attributing responsibility for the attack.

Ukraine, known for targeting Russian energy infrastructures to drain military resources, has yet to comment on the incidents.

The explosion hit the Kairos around 15:00 GMT on Friday, prompting rescuers to evacuate its 25 crew members due to a fire that erupted. At that time, the tanker was approximately 100 kilometers east of where the Bosphorus Strait opens into the Black Sea, according to officials.

The Virat was attacked later, located about 400 kilometers further east, as per VesselFinder tracking data.

Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu stated that both tankers experienced «explosions,» suggesting to private NTV television late Friday that a mine, rocket, or drone strike could have caused the damage.

«An external impact indicates the vessel might have been affected by a mine, rocket, or a similar object, potentially including a drone or an unmanned underwater vehicle. These are the foremost possibilities to consider,» he remarked.

In a post on X, the Turkish Directorate of Maritime Affairs indicated that the Kairos was «en route to Russia’s Novorossiysk» when it reported experiencing an «external impact leading to a fire 28 nautical miles offshore» from the Turkish coast.

They shared striking images showing flames and dense black smoke emanating from the vessel, with the fire still ongoing five hours later.

The directorate later stated that the Virat had reported «being hit approximately 35 nautical miles from shore,» confirming that all 20 crew members were safe, although «heavy smoke was detected in the engine room,» and requests for evacuation had not been made by those on board.

Both tankers, flagged under Gambia, as noted by the VesselFinder website, are under Western sanctions due to their transport of oil from Russian ports in violation of an embargo imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Since the outbreak of conflict in Ukraine, both nations have laid sea mines to secure their coastlines. While many mines have since been located and destroyed in the Black Sea, several have drifted, particularly due to storms, posing threats to shipping lanes.

In reaction, NATO member states Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania, all of which border the Black Sea, established the Mine Countermeasures Naval Group (MCM Black Sea) in 2024 to manage demining efforts.