Turkishโข Tanker Struck Near Ukrainian Port of Izmail, Raising Black Seaโ Tensions
A Turkish-flagged oil tanker, teh ORINDA, was reportedly โhit by a drone strike in the vicinity of โคthe Portโ of Izmail, Ukraine, sparking a fire onboard. The vessel was carrying liquified petroleum gas at the time of โขthe incident, โคwhich occurred as the crewโ was undergoing evacuation procedures.
According to โขinitial reports, an unidentified missile or rocketโค impacted the ship during the evacuation. โFortunately, โคallโ sixteen crew โฃmembers where able to disembark safely โbefore the fire โคfully ignited, and no injuries have been reported.โข Ukrainian firefighters are currently working to contain the blaze, โwhileโ Turkish authorities areโข closely monitoring the situation. A full assessmentโค of the damage will be conducted once the fire is under control.
This latestโฃ incident marks at โคleast the third time a Turkish-flagged vessel โhas been targeted in the Black Sea since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraineโ war.
Earlier in 2024, โขa Turkish-operated cargo ship โtransporting Ukrainian grain โto egyptโข was suspected to haveโข been struck โby a Russian missile approximately 30โ miles off the Romanian coast.โข While โฃno one was hurt, the ship sustained considerable damage.
In a separate incident last year, the Turkish-owned cargo vessel ลรผkrรผ Okan was intercepted and boarded by theโข Russian navy. Russian forces fired warning shots before deploying a helicopter โto raid the ship, roughly 37 miles from Turkey‘s northwest โcoast. Russia asserted that โthe ลรผkrรผโข Okan had failed to respondโ to a request to halt forโค inspection,and subsequently โขallowed it to continue its journey โขto Izmail.
Following that โคincident, Turkey’s Presidential โขCommunications Directorate issued a strong statement to โฃRussian officials, warning against further actionsโค that could escalate tensions in the Black Sea. The recent โattack on the ORINDA โฃ underscores the continuedโ risks to โฃmaritime traffic inโฃ the regionโค and the potential for further escalation.
