'Due to external causes': Russia-bound tankers hit by mystery blast off Turkey's coast - What are the casualties

Turkish authorities on Friday (Nov 28) said that fire broke out on the Gambian-flagged Kairos at about 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) off Kefken, in Turkey's northern Kocaeli province. They also said that they had taken crews off two oil tankers in the Black Sea after explosions and fires, suggesting they may have been hit by devices. They said that the crew is safe. The Kairos was en route to the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

The Directorate General of Maritime Affairs wrote on X that the Kairos was empty and caught fire 28 nautical miles (52 kilometres) off the Turkish coast "due to external causes". "All 25 crew members are safe and sound," it added. AFP reported quoting the directorate that a second oil tanker, the Virat was also “reported being hit approximately 35 nautical miles away.” "Rescue teams and a cargo vessel were sent to the scene. The 20 crew members are safe and sound and thick smoke was detected in the engine room," it added.Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on NTV: "An external cause means the vessel was hit by a mine, a rocket or a similar projectile, or by a drone, or by an unmanned underwater vehicle."

Both tankers are currently subject to Western sanctions for carrying Russian oil despite the post-February 2022 embargo. Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, drifting naval mines have become a recurring threat in the Black Sea, with several already detected and neutralised. In response to the growing maritime risk, NATO allies Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania formed a Mine Countermeasures Group in 2024 to safeguard shipping routes along their shared coastline.