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The Turkish-owned oil tanker that sustained damage off the coast of Senegal last week was struck by four external explosions, its manager said on Monday.
The incident resulted in no injuries to personnel and no environmental pollution, Istanbul-based Besiktas Shipping said in a written statement.
The vessel, Mersin, was at anchor near Dakar when the four explosions occurred at 2345 GMT on Nov. 27, resulting in seawater entering the engine room, the manager said.
The cause of the explosions was not clear.
“The situation was immediately brought under control, and we confirm that all crew members are safe; there are no injuries, no loss of life, and no pollution,” the Besiktas Shipping statement said of the Mersin’s situation.
“The vessel remains safe and stable, and it poses no navigational or safety risks to its surroundings,” it added.
On Nov. 28, the day after the blasts aboard the Mersin in the Atlantic, Ukrainian naval drones hit two sanctioned tankers in the Black Sea, near Türkiye’s coast, as they headed to a Russian port to load oil, an official said on Saturday.
Kyiv is trying to pile pressure on Russia’s vast oil industry.
Though the Panamanian-flagged Mersin has also been involved in shipping Russian oil, according to shipping data firm Kpler, there was no indication of any Ukrainian connection.
Besiktas Group is the registered owner of the tanker, according to shipping database Equasis.
The incident, which had led to the vessel issuing a distress signal, prompted the deployment of tugboats and specialized teams from Senegal’s navy and maritime authority as they sought to prevent a potential oil spill.
Besiktas Shipping said it was working in full cooperation with the insurers and Senegalese authorities, managing the consequences of the incident and supporting the technical and forensic investigations.
