ATurkish-operated crude oil tanker was hit by an explosion likely caused by an unmanned surface vessel in the Black Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said on Thursday.

Speaking in a live interview, Uraloğlu said, “We believe it was not a drone attack, but an unmanned underwater vehicle.”

His remarks came after initial media reports claiming that the vessel, named Altura, was hit by a drone not far from Istanbul’s Bosporus.

“It was an externally caused explosion, a deliberate attack specifically aimed at disabling the ship’s engine room. None of the 27 Turkish crew members sustained any health problems or injuries,” Uraloğlu further said.

He also noted that the technical teams have been dispatched to the scene.

Private broadcaster NTV reported earlier on Thursday that the tanker was hit by a drone ⁠some 15 ⁠nautical miles from Istanbul’s Bosporus, adding ⁠that its 27 personnel were safe.

According to Uraloğlu, they received a report of a Sierra Leone-flagged vessel with a Turkish operator being targeted after midnight.

The Sierra Leone-flagged vessel had departed from Russia’s port of Novorossiysk carrying crude oil, according to ship-tracking ⁠data. ⁠

NTV said there was an explosion on the bridge of the ship, owned by Turkish firm ⁠Beşiktaş, when it was struck in the Black Sea and ​that its engine room took ​on water.

It said the vessel then ⁠requested ‌assistance, and a Turkish coast ⁠guard vessel, ‌along with an emergency ​response ship, was dispatched.

In December, Türkiye witnessed a series of security incidents linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warning against the Black Sea becoming an “area of confrontation” between the warring parties.

Türkiye, 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.