NATO state issues Black Sea shipping warning

The recent naval drone attacks on vessels off Türkiye’s Black Sea coast, reportedly carried out by Ukraine, could make the region inaccessible to trade and human transport, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has warned.

In the past week, explosives-laden sea drones have struck two oil tankers and another carrying sunflower oil in Turkish territorial waters, according to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure’s General Directorate of Maritime Affairs.

“It is turning the Black Sea into an area closed to trade and inaccessible to human transport due to the danger it poses,” Fidan told journalists Wednesday, describing the situation as “very frightening.”

The foreign minister also warned that the geography of the Ukraine conflict is “increasingly spreading,” while “the methods being used are becoming widespread.”

The incidents reported by Ankara involve two Gambian-flagged tankers, the Kairos and the Virat, which were struck last week off Türkiye’s coast while en route to the Russian port of Novorossiysk. Several Western media outlets, citing a Ukrainian state official, reported that the assault was carried out as part of a joint operation involving the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Kiev’s navy.

Both tankers had been previously sanctioned by Western states for transporting oil in violation of restrictions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has denied operating a “shadow fleet.”

Earlier this week, the Turkish Transport Ministry said that the Russian-flagged tanker MIDVOLGA-2, carrying sunflower oil, was attacked about 80 miles (120km) off the country’s coast while en route to Georgia. Kiev has denied attacking the tanker.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that attacks on commercial ships in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone are unacceptable, warning against “a worrying escalation.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry has denounced the raids as “terrorist attacks,” with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also accusing Ukraine of encroaching on Turkish sovereignty.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned earlier this week that Moscow would sever Ukraine’s access to the sea to prevent Kiev from committing “piracy” in the area.