The oil tanker Altura, owned by Pergamon Shipping, a Turkish company based in Istanbul, departed from the Russian port of Novorossiysk in the northeast of the Black Sea.
This oil tanker is believed to be carrying 140,000 tons of oil, attacked at around 0:30 am on March 26, local time, when it was about 22km from the Bosphorus Strait.
The Bosphorus Strait is an important freight transport route connecting the Black Sea with the Marmara Sea and the Mediterranean.
The oil tanker Altura is subject to sanctions from the European Union and is classified as a dark fleet ship on MarineTraffic.
This Turkish ship was attacked by both unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned vehicles at sea. Damage was reported in the upper part of the ship and in the engine room.
The oil tanker Altura sent a distress signal and was supported by the nearby ship Erdek. According to radio communication, the engine room was flooded.
Rescue vessels 11 and 12 of the Turkish Coastal Safety Administration, along with the coastal safety speedboat 5, were dispatched to the scene.
Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu confirmed that a crude oil tanker from Russia, flying a foreign flag but operated by Turkey, was attacked by unmanned vehicles on March 26 in the Black Sea, near Istanbul.
The Minister also added that there were 27 Turkish crew members on board at the time of the incident, all of whom were safe. Relevant units have been dispatched to the scene and the situation continues to be closely monitored.
The latest attack occurred just outside Turkish territorial waters.
In December last year, Turkey recorded a series of similar security incidents related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that the Black Sea should not become a zone of confrontation between conflicting parties.
According to Turkish maritime news agency Haber Denizde, the oil tanker Altura used to operate in the Besiktas Maritime fleet under the name Besiktas Dardanelles.
Tàu được Kayseri Shipping có trụ sở tại Panama mua lại vào tháng 5.2024 và được bổ sung vào đội tàu với tên Kayseri. In November 2025, the ship was acquired by Istanbul-based Pergamon Maritime and renamed Altura.
This oil tanker with a tonnage of 163,750 tons was subsequently subjected to continuous sanctions from Europe.
