'Cannot justify this': Turkish Prez Tayyip Erdogan calls strike on vessel in Black sea 'worrying escalation'

Tayyip Erdogan

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday condemned the recent strike on a commercial vessel in the Black Sea.

He warned that any attacks on ships near Türkiye’s waters will not be tolerated. While speaking to reporters on Monday, Erdogen said, “The war between Russia and Ukraine has clearly begun to threaten navigational safety in the Black Sea. The targeting of vessels in our Exclusive Economic Zone on Friday signals a worrying escalation."

"We cannot justify these attacks in any way. We are conveying the necessary warnings to all relevant sides regarding such incidents," he added.

Ankara confirmed on Saturday that the Virat, a tanker linked to Russia’s shadow fleet, was hit late on Friday by an unmanned vessel about 35 miles from Türkiye’s northern coastline.

On Saturday, Ukraine’s security service claimed responsibility for strikes on two tankers sanctioned for transporting Russian oil.

According to a person familiar with the operation, Sea Baby naval drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine targeted the vessels off Türkiye’s Black Sea coast, Bloomberg reported.

Bloomberg further said that the action was intended to disrupt Russia’s capacity to continue its invasion and noted that the two ships were capable of carrying roughly $70 million worth of oil, though both were empty when hit.

The first vessel, which was the 274-metre Kairos, began taking on water after an explosion late on Friday, according to media reports.

The second tanker, the Virat, which is the same vessel later confirmed by Türkiye as struck near its coastline, was also attacked around the same time and was seen emitting smoke. It was hit again early Saturday.

The incident comes amid increasing concerns that the conflict is spilling into broader maritime routes in the region.

(With agency inputs)