Tanker loaded with Russian oil hit in Black Sea - Turkish minister

Turkey's Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that an oil tanker loaded with oil from Russia was hit in the Black Sea, UNN reports with reference to Star.

Details

"I can report that a foreign-flagged vessel operated by Turkey, loaded with oil from Russia, suffered an explosion in its engine room shortly after midnight. Our emergency center received the report, and the necessary personnel were dispatched to the scene. We believe that the engine room was a deliberate target," the Turkish minister said on 24 TV.

"We do not believe it was a drone attack; we believe the strike was carried out at water level using an unmanned underwater vehicle. It was an explosion from an external source, aimed specifically at the engine room, with the goal of completely disabling the vessel. We have dispatched the necessary personnel to the scene and are monitoring the situation," he noted.

According to the Turkish TV channel NTV, the explosion occurred on the ALTURA tanker, which was carrying 140,000 tons of oil and had sailed from Russia, 15 miles from the Bosphorus in the Black Sea, and that the deck and engine room of the vessel were allegedly damaged.