Turkiye’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, said the explosion on the 140,000-ton crude oil tanker was a deliberate attempt to completely disable the ship.

Axar.az informs, citing Turkish media, regarding the attack on a ship in the Black Sea, he said:

"We do not yet know the owner of the foreign-flagged ship carrying crude oil from Russia, but it is operated by a Turkish company. After midnight, there was an explosion in the engine room. The crew reported it to our emergency search and rescue center, and our coastal safety and coast guard teams were dispatched. We believe the explosion specifically targeted the engine room and may have been carried out by an unmanned maritime vehicle—not a drone. Our technical teams are on site and will assess the situation in the coming hours. We will provide a clearer statement once the investigation is complete. This was an external explosion, deliberately intended to completely disable the ship."