'This Is Virat, Help Needed': Dramatic Visuals Capture Ukraine’s Drone Strike On Russian Tanker

An unmanned sea vessel struck a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the Black Sea off Turkey’s coast in the early hours of Saturday, according to Turkey’s transport ministry. Ukraine took responsibility for the attack, saying it attacked the tankers with sea baby drones.

The Turkish ministry said the ‘Virat’, which was previously believed to have been struck by unmanned maritime vehicles approximately 35 nautical miles off the Black Sea coastline on Friday, was attacked again on Saturday morning.

The crew of the tanker reported a ‘drone attack’ in an intercepted open-frequency radio distress call. “This is VIRAT. Help needed! Drone attack! Mayday!” the crew could be heard saying in the distress call.

“This is VIRAT. Help needed! Drone attack! Mayday!”

The crew of the tanker VIRAT reported a drone attack on an open frequency. Clearly, they weren’t referring to regular drones, but to unmanned boats.

As a reminder, the tankers VIRAT and KAIROS were “exposed to external… pic.twitter.com/cQ7oXvljZ7

— Victor vicktop55 commentary (@vick55top) November 28, 2025

“The Virat, which was previously said to have been attacked by unmanned maritime vehicles approximately 35 nautical miles off the Black Sea coastline, was attacked again by unmanned maritime vehicles early this morning,” the Turkish ministry said on X.

It said the tanker sustained only “minor damage” on the starboard side and that none of the 20-strong crew were hurt. This came after Turkey’s transport ministry said two empty oil tankers, the Virat and the Kairos, were attacked on Friday.

Ukraine Claims Responsibility

A Ukrainian security source told AFP that Kyiv was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Black Sea that it believed were covertly transporting sanctioned Russian oil. “Modernised Sea Baby naval drones successfully targeted the vessels,” the source said.

Ukraine’s SBU security shared a video that purported to show sea drones gliding towards the two ships on Friday, before sparking explosions. According to an SBU source, the drones inflicted critical damage, effectively knocking the tankers out of service.

Ukrainian forces released videos of the operation against the two oilers Kairo and Virat in the Black Sea which tried to reach the Russian coast.

The message is clear:

If you are a shipowner trying to get Russian oil, expect that you will lose your whole ship. pic.twitter.com/Zg91DqbKmZ

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) November 29, 2025

Ukraine has carried out successful naval strikes against Russian shipping during the war, particularly using explosives-packed marine drones. However, Ukrainian missions have largely been limited to the waters of the northern Black Sea.

On Friday evening, Turkey’s transport ministry said two empty oil tankers had reported explosions but sustained no casualties, saying they had been struck in Turkish waters but without saying what had caused the blasts.

The blast struck the Kairos on Friday afternoon, with rescuers evacuating its 25 crew members after a fire broke out. At the time, it was about 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the point where the Bosphorus Strait enters the Black Sea.

The Virat was struck later when it was about 400 kilometres further east, according to the VesselFinder tracking site. All 20 crew members aboard the Virat were safe, although heavy smoke was reported in the engine room, the maritime authority said.

Both Vessels Sanctioned

Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said rescue services first received reports that the Kairos may have hit a mine before being told of an explosion on the Virat.

“Our crews indicate that there were explosions on the other ship and that these were also caused by external interference,” Uraloglu told broadcaster NTV on Saturday. “The first things that come to mind for external interference could be a mine, a missile, a marine vessel or a drone. We don’t have definitive information on this,” he added.

Both tankers, which are flying a Gambian flag, are heavily sanctioned for transporting oil from Russian ports in defiance of an embargo after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The United States sanctioned the Virat in January this year, followed by the European Union, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada. Similarly, the EU sanctioned the Kairos in July this year, followed by the UK and Switzerland.

(with inputs from agencies)