Two Struck Ships Run Aground in Türkiye After Black Sea Attacks

A Russian-flagged cargo ship that was attacked off the coast of Russia has drifted across the Black Sea and run aground on a beach in Türkiye, Turkish Demirören News Agency (DHA) reported on August 30.

The 108-meter-long vessel, identified as the OMSKIY-107, washed ashore at Alacalı Beach in the Şile district of Istanbul.

The cargo ship was initially targeted near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, a major naval and maritime logistics hub. Following the incident, the crew abandoned the heavily damaged vessel in lifeboats, leaving the uncrewed ship to drift toward the Turkish coastline.

The incident follows a pattern of maritime insecurity near the Russian logistics hub. Recently, the MSC, the world’s largest container shipping company, temporarily suspended all new bookings to and from Novorossiysk after one of its vessels, the MSC ULSAN III, was struck by a drone while approaching the port.

Witnesses on the shore who spotted the approaching vessel immediately contacted local authorities, prompting a rapid response from the Turkish Coast Guard, DHA wrote.

Upon arriving at the scene, emergency teams secured the perimeter around the grounded ship and initiated an investigation into the incident. According to DHA, initial aerial photographs and on-site inspections revealed severe damage to the vessel, with the captain’s bridge appearing entirely charred and burned out.

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While footage of the drifting ship was captured by bystanders on their mobile phones, officials have not yet confirmed the exact timing of the initial attack in Russian waters or the current whereabouts of the evacuated crew.

In a separate incident, the Hong Kong-flagged tanker M/T Golden Sapling also washed ashore on the Turkish coast, running aground in Samsun’s Alaçam district after reportedly suffering damage from a drone attack in the Black Sea.

According to the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, the vessel had been drifting unmanned for days due to severe weather after another ship evacuated its 21 crew members and transported them to Russia. The tanker had not transmitted a signal since August 26, prompting immediate investigations by Turkish Coast Guard and Port Authority teams upon its grounding.

The recent maritime strikes are indicative of the disruption facing Russian naval operations across the Black Sea. Several damaged Black Sea Fleet vessels—including a Molniya-class missile boat with its shattered superstructure concealed under camouflage netting and multiple Soviet-era landing ships—are reportedly currently sheltering in the bays of occupied Sevastopol following repeated Ukrainian strikes on Russian naval assets.

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