Two tankers catch fire in the Black Sea after being struck, Turkish authorities report

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Two tankers were struck and caught fire in the Black Sea, Turkish authorities reported, prompting rescue operations. Crew members on board both vessels were reported to be safe.

The OpenSanctions database, which tracks people or organizations involved in sanctions evasion, described the vessels as “shadow fleet” — or vessels used to evade sanctions imposed on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Russia.

Turkey's Directorate General of Maritime Affairs said the first tanker, the Gambian-flagged Kairos, caught fire in the Black Sea, approximately 28 miles (45 kilometers) off the coast of Turkey’s Kocaeli province. It blamed on the fire on “an external impact,” without providing details.

The Kairos was sailing empty toward Russia’s Novorossiysk port, it said.

Within the hour, the maritime authority reported that a second tanker, Virat, was “struck” while sailing in the Black Sea about 35 nautical miles off the Turkish coast. It did not provide further details.

Rescue teams were dispatched to the scene to provide assistance. All crew members aboard the Virat were safe, although heavy smoke was reported in the engine room, authorities said.

All crew aboard the Kairos were safely evacuated, according to the private NTV news broadcaster.

The maritime authority posted distant shots of smoke rising from the area where the Kairos caught fire.

The United States sanctioned the Virat in January this year, followed by the European Union, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada, according to the OpenSanctions website. Similarly, the EU sanctioned the Kairos in July this year, followed by the U.K. and Switzerland.

“The shadow tanker fleet continues to provide multibillion-dollar revenues for the Kremlin bypassing sanctions, disguising its activities under the flags of third countries, using complex schemes to conceal owners and poses significant environmental threats,” OpenSanctions says in its website entry on the Kairos.

The Virat, built in 2018, uses “irregular and high-risk shipping practices” and has previously sailed under the flags of Barbados, the Comoros, Liberia and Panama.

The Kairos, formerly flagged as Panamanian, Greek and Liberian, was built in 2002.