ANKARA, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure reported that an empty oil tanker called Virat came under a second attack in the Black Sea on Saturday morning, sustaining minor damage.
According to the ministry, the tanker was struck early Saturday by "unmanned surface vessels" about 35 miles offshore near the Bosphorus Strait. "The vessel sustained minor damage to its starboard side above the waterline," the ministry said, noting that the ship remained stable and its crew was in good health.
The Saturday incident followed two attacks on Friday, when Virat was first targeted by unmanned surface vessels and another empty Russia-bound tanker, Kairos, caught fire after an explosion 28 miles off the Turkish coast. Turkish authorities said the explosion on Kairos was caused by "an external factor."
All 20 crew members on Virat and 25 on Kairos were reported safe. Firefighting and cooling operations continued aboard the 274-meter-long Kairos, en route from Egypt to Russia.
It remains unclear who was behind the attacks. Some media reports, citing unnamed sources, suggested that the two tankers were being used by Russia to export oil and were targeted by Ukraine. ■
