An oil tanker operated by a Turkish company was attacked this morning in the Black Sea, possibly by an unmanned surface vehicle, Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said.
“A foreign-flagged vessel, operated by a Turkish company, which had loaded crude oil from Russia, reported an explosion in the engine room after midnight to our emergency center,” the minister said in a television interview.
“We believe the engine room was specifically targeted.” “We think that the attack was not carried out by a drone, but by an unmanned surface vehicle at water level,” Uraloglu added during a live broadcast on 24Tv. The tanker was hit near Istanbul, the Transport Minister explained, adding that the 27 crew members were unharmed, Anadolu reports. The minister added that the relevant law enforcement agencies have been sent to the scene and the situation continues to be monitored closely.