Türkiye has said another tanker has reported coming under attack in the Black Sea while en route to Georgia. The people onboard did not suffer any injuries.
The incident took place on Tuesday, just days after two other tankers were hit by explosions off the Turkish coast.
A Ukrainian security source claimed responsibility for those attacks, saying drones had hit vessels that were "covertly transporting Russian oil".
The latest incident on Tuesday morning hit the Midvolga 2, which "reported that it was attacked 80 nautical miles off our coast," Türkiye's maritime affairs directorate wrote on X, saying the tanker was "sailing from Russia to Georgia loaded with sunflower oil" with 13 crew on board.
"The ship, which currently has no adverse conditions among its 13 personnel, has no request for assistance," it said.
‘The safety of navigation’
The Russian-flagged vessel was heading towards the Turkish port of Sinop, which lies in the central area of Türkiye's Black Sea coast, stretching some 1,600 kilometres along the southern flank of the sea.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had on Monday criticised drone attacks as a "worrying escalation".
"We cannot under any circumstances accept these attacks, which threaten the safety of navigation, the environment and lives in our exclusive economic zone," he said of the initial drone attacks which took place on Friday.
"The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has clearly reached a stage where it threatens the safety of navigation in the Black Sea."
