Drone Strikes Target Three ‘Shadow Fleet’ Oil Tankers Near Turkey’s Black Sea Coast
Crews escape unharmed as vessels linked to Russia’s shadow oil trade come under attack during maritime operations near Sinop.
ISTANBUL, May 28: Three oil tankers linked to Russia’s sanctioned “shadow fleet” were targeted in separate drone attacks off Turkey’s Black Sea coast on Thursday, according to a shipping agency.
Tribeca Shipping said the Palau flagged tanker James II was attacked while sailing about 80 kilometres north of Turkey’s Sinop province. The vessel was not carrying cargo at the time of the incident.
Two other tankers, Altura and Velora, both sailing under the Sierra Leone flag, were reportedly struck while conducting ship-to-ship transfer operations in nearby waters.
All crew members aboard the three vessels were reported safe, while Turkish coast guard teams were sent to the area to provide assistance and assess the situation.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the strikes, and Turkish authorities did not issue an official statement.
The Altura had previously been damaged in a naval drone strike in March near the Bosporus entrance to the Black Sea, suffering damage to its bridge and engine section.
According to sanctions-tracking platform OpenSanctions, Altura and Velora are associated with Turkey based Pergamon Shipping, while James II is owned by Marshall Islands registered James Navigation.
Western governments have accused such vessels of helping transport Russian oil and petroleum products outside international sanctions imposed after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey had earlier criticised attacks on commercial tankers in the Black Sea, warning that such incidents threaten maritime safety, regional navigation routes and the environment.
Ukraine has increasingly relied on naval drones to target Russian-linked shipping during the war, although most previous operations were concentrated in the northern Black Sea region.
