The oil tanker Kairos caught fire in the Black Sea north of Turkey’s coast after an “external impact,” Turkish maritime authorities said. All 25 crew members were evacuated without injuries, and no oil cargo was on board.
According to Turkey’s Directorate General of Maritime Affairs, the Gambia-flagged vessel was sailing in ballast to Novorossiysk when it reported an explosion and fire about 28 nautical miles off Kefken. Rescue boats, tugs and an emergency vessel were dispatched, and officials said the crew’s condition was satisfactory.
Roughly an hour later, a similar alert came from another tanker, Virat, which reported an impact 35 nautical miles offshore and smoke in its engine room; its 20 crew members were also unharmed.
Turkey said vessel traffic through the Bosphorus and the Turkish straits continued without restrictions.
The cause of the incidents has not yet been officially confirmed. The maritime agency Tribeca told several media outlets that preliminary information suggested Kairos may have struck a sea mine and begun taking on water. A port agent cited by Rigzone said the roughly 274-meter vessel sustained hull damage. Turkish authorities confirmed explosions, fire and evacuations, stating that both tankers were affected “due to external causes.” No pollution was detected around Kairos, and an investigation is underway.
Kairos is a 2002-built Suezmax tanker with a deadweight of about 150,000 tonnes. The vessel, flagged to Gambia, has been mentioned in open sources as previously used for oil transport and listed in EU, UK and Swiss sanctions under its former name Katiuska. According to Equasis, it was later sold to a China-linked entity and is considered part of an older group of tankers described by analysts as the “shadow fleet.”
According to the latest update from Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the fire on Kairos triggered by an explosion during its Egypt–Russia voyage was completely extinguished on the open deck following overnight operations by the tug Rescue-12 and the emergency response vessel Nene Hatun, with cooling and suppression work continuing in enclosed compartments. Environmental experts and divers remain on standby. The ministry also reported a renewed attack on Virat in the morning, noting minor damage on its starboard side. There was no fire, the crew remained in good condition, and rescue teams stayed at a safe distance for security reasons while the vessel maintained stable positioning.
