Less than 24 hours before that, a Greek tanker loaded with Russian oil was similarly attacked by drones in the area.
Anna S, owned by Neptune Tradebulk Inc., was en route to Novorossiysk to load grain. Proto Thema said the bulker was almost completely burned; it was unclear whether the ship remained afloat.
There were 21 crew members aboard, 20 Filipino sailors and a Romanian captain. All abandoned ship and were rescued by another merchant vessel in the area, Elina B.
About five hours later, Proto Thema reported, the vessel
that had picked up the 21 sailors was also struck. The outlet said Elina B.
continued at about 9.5 knots toward a Turkish port despite being hit, and that
one drone had circled the ship for some time before attacking.