Turkish Oil Tanker MT Altura Carrying One Million Barrels of Russian Crude Hit by Drone in Black Sea Near Istanbul

A Turkish tanker loaded with Russian crude oil was struck by a drone on Thursday, March 26. According to reports, a Turkish-owned oil tanker named M/T Altura was reportedly attacked by a drone near Istanbul’s Bosporus Strait. The vessel was carrying approximately one million barrels of crude oil from Russia. 

After the drone hit, the vessel suffered damage with water flooding inside the engine room. However, no casualties or injuries were reported in the incident.  The attack on the oil vessel comes at a time when tensions around Black Sea shipping area are already high, which is alarming global energy crisis.  

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Turkey transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu confirmed the attack said received an emergency call. He said the engine room was purposely targeted. He said the attack was not carried out by a drone, but by an unmanned surface vehicle at water level, reported NDTV.