A drone has struck an oil tanker carrying Russian crude in the Black Sea near Istanbul, causing an explosion close to the Bosphorus strait.
According to Turkey's Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, all 27 crew members aboard the vessel, identified as the Altura, were safe. The coast guard was dispatched to assist the ship.
The tanker had departed from Russia's Novorossiysk port with around one million barrels of oil and was reportedly targeted in its engine room.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on sanctioned vessels linked to Russia, amid ongoing tensions in the Black Sea tied to the war in Ukraine.
Turkey said it is closely monitoring drone-related risks in the region, warning of threats to commercial shipping and navigation safety.