Two Attack-Damaged Merchant Ships Run Aground on Turkey's Black Sea Coast
Key Takeaways
- •The Hong Kong-flagged tanker Golden Sapling grounded in Samsun province after being damaged in a drone attack about 90 nautical miles off Sinop, with its 21 crew evacuated by another vessel.
- •The Russian-flagged cargo ship Omskiy-107 grounded at Alacalı Beach near Şile after an attack near Novorossiysk, and images show extensive fire damage to its accommodation block and bridge.
- •The timing and perpetrators of the attacks have not been independently established.
- •Turkey summoned Ukraine's ambassador after Turkish-operated ships Lider Bordo Mavi and Lider Kocatepe were attacked near Tuapse on August 26 and the following day.
- •The groundings pose salvage and pollution risks and add hazards for crews and insurers on a Black Sea route that remains critical for grain and seaborne trade.
Two merchant ships damaged in separate attacks around the Black Sea washed up on Turkey's coast on Sunday.
The Hong Kong-flagged chemical/products tanker Golden Sapling grounded at Geyikkoşan in Samsun province after drifting unmanned for several days. According to Turkish news agency DHA, the 19,455 dwt tanker was damaged in a drone attack approximately 90 nautical miles off Sinop. Its 21 crew members were evacuated by the Maran Pytha and taken to Novorossiysk before the abandoned vessel began drifting in poor weather.
Further west, the Russian-flagged general cargo ship Omskiy-107 grounded at Alacalı Beach in Şile, on Istanbul's Black Sea coast. The 3,248 dwt, 1981-built vessel had also suffered an attack near Novorossiysk, DHA reported. Its crew abandoned ship in lifeboats before it drifted south towards Turkey. Images from the scene show extensive fire damage around the accommodation block and bridge. The timing and perpetrator of the attack have not been independently established.
Turkish coastguard teams have been deployed to both casualties. Beyond the immediate salvage and pollution risks posed by two unmanned burning or damaged hulls on busy coastal waters, the incidents add to the hazards facing crews and insurers on a Black Sea route that remains a critical corridor for grain and other seaborne trade.
The twin groundings come amid a rapidly worsening dispute between Ankara and Kyiv over attacks on commercial shipping near Russian Black Sea ports. Turkey, which controls passage through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits under the 1936 Montreux Convention, summoned Ukrainian ambassador Naryman Dzhelialov to the foreign ministry on Saturday after two Turkish-operated ships were targeted last week. The Cameroon-flagged ro-ro Lider Bordo Mavi was struck near Tuapse on August 26, while Lider Kocatepe, which had been sent to tow the damaged ship, was itself attacked the following day. Ankara told the ambassador that the safety of life, property, navigation and the marine environment in the Black Sea had to be protected.
The episode leaves open the question of whether further strikes on non-Russian-flagged tonnage calling at Russian Black Sea ports will draw additional diplomatic responses from Turkey and other flag or operator states.
🌊 Karadeniz'de hareketli saatler… Sinop açıklarında dron saldırısına uğradığı ve hasar aldığı öne sürülen Hong Kong bayraklı "M/T Golden Sapling" isimli tanker, Samsun'un Alaçam ilçesinde karaya oturdu. ⚓ 21 kişilik mürettebatı başka bir gemi tarafından tahliye edilerek… pic.twitter.com/JDuuve3vhz — Cumhuriyet (@cumhuriyetgzt1) August 30, 2026
