A drone has apparently targeted the vessel traveling to the port of Novorossiysk
An oil tanker heading to Russia’s Novorossiysk port was attacked in the Black Sea, per maritime news site Lloyd’s List.
The Palau-flagged ‘Elbus’ was moving east roughly 30 nautical miles (55.5 km) from Turkey’s coastline on Wednesday when it “came under attack from an unmanned marine vehicle and a drone,” the outlet reported Thursday, citing its own intelligence data. Around the time of the attack, the tanker veered off course and made a sudden turn toward the coast.
Turkish media reports that the Coast Guard received a distress call from the ship and dispatched teams to the area, which escorted the vessel to shore. The tanker is said to have been struck in its upper sections. No injuries or pollution have been reported. At the time of publication, no statement had been issued by Turkish or Russian authorities.
Since November, at least five commercial tankers trading with Russia have reportedly been targeted by suspected Ukrainian drones in the Black Sea. Two of these, both Gambian-flagged vessels, were hit off Türkiye’s coast while en route to Novorossiysk. The tankers had earlier been sanctioned by Western states for carrying oil in breach of restrictions imposed on Russia following the 2022 escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
In November, Moscow said the attacks directly violate the rights of the vessels’ owners and encroach on Türkiye’s sovereignty. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that the Kremlin views the incidents as serious and that such attacks could impact ongoing diplomatic efforts. Moscow has denied operating a “shadow fleet.”
Ankara has also voiced concern about the attacks, saying they occurred within its exclusive economic zone and posed “serious risks” to navigation and the environment.
While Kiev has not officially claimed responsibility for the strikes, several Ukrainian and Western news outlets have reported—citing sources—that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is behind them.