A Turkish-operated tanker loaded with Russian oil was hit in an underwater attack in the Black Sea. AFP
"I can say that a foreign-flagged ship operated by a Turkish company, which had loaded crude oil from Russia, reported an explosion in its engine room after midnight to our emergency call centre," the minister said in a televised interview.
"We believe that the engine room was specifically targeted. We think the attack was not carried out by a drone, but by an unmanned surface vehicle at water level."
The minister would not specify if the attack on the Sierra Leone-flagged tanker happened in Turkish waters.
Private maritime security company Vanguard Tech said that the tanker, laden with approximately 140,000 tonnes of crude oil, reportedly suffered an explosion approximately 15 nautical miles north of the Bosphorus while inbound to the strait.
The vessel was inbound from Novorossiysk Port, it added.
The 27 crew members, all Turkish nationals, were reported safe, with no casualties reported, Uraloglu added.
"It appears to be an externally caused explosion, particularly directed at the engine room, with the aim of completely disabling the ship," Uraloglu said.
"We have sent the necessary units to the scene and are monitoring the situation," he added.
The vessel is under sanctions from several countries, including the UK, Ukraine, and Switzerland, for involvement in the transport of Russian-origin oil.
In December, Turkey witnessed a series of security incidents linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warning against the Black Sea becoming an "area of confrontation" between the warring parties.
Turkey, whose northern shore faces Ukraine and annexed Crimea, has maintained close ties with both Kyiv and Moscow since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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