TÜRKİYE ORTA ASYA HABER KKUORDİNATÖRÜ

THE MOSCOW TIMES/BLACK SEA TENSIONS Black Sea Tanker Crashes Again After Explosion – Turkey The Turkish Ministry of Transport announced that one of two empty oil tankers struck by explosions in the Black Sea on Friday evening was struck again on Saturday morning, and that the explosion was caused by an unmanned vessel. The ministry said in a statement to the X newspaper, "The Virat, previously reported to have been attacked by unmanned vessels approximately 35 nautical miles off the Black Sea coastline, was attacked again by unmanned vessels early this morning." The ministry reported that only "minor damage" occurred to the tanker's starboard side, and none of the 20 crew members were injured. The Turkish Ministry of Transport released a statement Friday evening stating that two empty oil tankers, the Virat and the Kairos, had reported explosions but no casualties. It added that the tankers were struck in Turkish territorial waters, but did not specify what caused the explosions. The ministry's statement was the first official confirmation that the Virat had been attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles. Turkey said the Kairos was en route to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, and a major Russian oil terminal ceased operations early Saturday after being struck by a maritime drone attack, according to the consortium that owns the terminal. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) said the terminal, part of which sustained "significant damage," was a key conduit for Kazakh oil, but did not specify who was responsible for the attack. Ukraine, which regularly targets Russian energy facilities to undermine the country's war funds, has not yet commented. The explosion occurred on the Kairos around 3:00 PM GMT on Friday, and rescuers evacuated 25 crew members after a fire broke out. Authorities said the ship was about 100 kilometers east of the Bosphorus Strait's entrance into the Black Sea at the time of the explosion. The Virat was subsequently struck. According to the tracking website VesselFinder, it was about 400 kilometers farther east at the time. Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu told private television channel NTV late Friday that both ships had suffered "explosions" and suggested the tankers may have struck a mine, rocket, or drone. "An external impact would mean the ship struck a mine, rocket, or similar projectile, perhaps a drone or an unmanned underwater vehicle. Those are the first things that come to mind," he said. Gambian-flagged, under sanctions Turkey's Maritime Directorate reported an "external impact that caused a fire 28 nautical miles off the Turkish coast" while the Kairos was "en route to the Russian port of Novorossiysk." He shared striking images of flames and thick black smoke coming from the ship, and that the fire is still burning nearly five hours later.