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A Turkish-operated crude oil tanker that had departed from Russia was struck by a naval drone on Thursday as it approached the Black Sea entrance to the Bosphorus Strait, Turkish officials said. None of the 27 Turkish crew members sustained injuries.
Attack Targets Engine Room
The vessel, named Altura, carrying around 140,000 tonnes of crude oil, was struck with the engine room as the apparent target, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said during a live broadcast. According to vessel tracking data, the Suezmax class tanker was carrying approximately 1 million barrels of Urals crude oil from Novorossiysk.
Uraloglu said the attack was deliberate and specifically aimed at disabling the ship’s engine room, adding that technical teams had been dispatched to the scene. The Altura issued a distress call and was assisted by the nearby vessel Erdek. Rescue vessels from the Turkish Coastal Safety General Directorate, along with a fast response boat, were dispatched to the scene.
Sanctions Status Raises Corridor Risk
The vessel is under European Union sanctions and is classified as a shadow fleet vessel on MarineTraffic. It was added to the EU sanctions list on October 24, 2025, followed by Switzerland and Ukraine on December 13, 2025, and the United Kingdom on February 24, 2026.
The registered owner of the vessel is China-based Sea Grace Shipping Ltd and the manager is Turkey-based Pergamon Maritime Enterprises Inc. Ship tracking and AIS data showed the Altura had left Russia’s port of Novorossiysk appearing almost fully laden.
Black Sea Insurance Exposure Widens
Late last year, shipping insurance rates rose after naval drones hit Russia-bound tankers in the Black Sea, prompting Moscow to threaten retaliation and NATO member Turkey to urge calm. Other commercial tankers carrying crude oil from Russian ports have been targeted over the past year by what some experts suggest is a state-sponsored sabotage campaign using limpet mines and other explosives.
Turkey’s foreign ministry said it was conveying necessary warnings to maintain navigational safety in the Black Sea, and that Turkish naval vessels were patrolling the area. The Turkish government had previously condemned drone attacks on shadow fleet oil tankers in the Black Sea, warning that strikes inside Turkey’s exclusive economic zone posed serious risks to navigation, life, property, and environmental safety in the region. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday’s strike.
The attack adds fresh pressure on operators moving sanctioned Russian crude through the southern Black Sea corridor, a route that feeds into the Bosphorus and onward to Mediterranean markets. Underwriters and war risk insurers are expected to reassess exposure across the corridor following the incident.
