Drones with "Police" inscription on board attack three tankers of Russia’s shadow fleet off coast of Türkiye. VIDEO

On 28 May, drones attacked three tankers carrying Russian oil in circumvention of sanctions in the Black Sea near Türkiye’s northern coast.

This was reported by Türkiye Today, citing shipping agency Tribeca, and confirmed by Reuters, Censor.NET reports.

A video allegedly showing the site of the attack has been published online. The footage shows a large vessel with an uncrewed surface vessel near its stern. Its warhead apparently failed to detonate. An inscription that looks very similar to the word "Police" can be seen on the uncrewed surface vessel.

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What is known?

According to journalists, the incident took place on Thursday, 28 May. The tanker James II (sailing under the flag of Palau) was empty at the time of the strike, 80 km north of Türkiye’s Türkeli district. Two other vessels, Altura and Velora (both sailing under the flag of Sierra Leone), were attacked by drones directly during a ship-to-ship oil transfer at sea.

Tribeca said rescue boats had been sent to the scene. According to preliminary data, the crews were not injured. Neither Kyiv nor Moscow has officially commented on the overnight attack so far.

More about Russia’s shadow fleet vessels

At the same time, all three vessels are well known to Ukrainian special services as key elements of Russia’s "shadow fleet":

James II: According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence, it has been involved since June 2024 in the illegal export of raw materials from Russian ports in circumvention of the G7 price cap. In May 2025, it was placed under UK sanctions.
Altura: in just eighteen months (from January 2024 to July 2025), it managed to transport around 6 million barrels of Russian oil. It is under tough sanctions imposed by the EU, Switzerland, the UK, and Canada.
Velora: over the same period, it transported 5.2 million barrels of oil for the aggressor’s budget. Since October 2025, it has been subject to Western sanctions packages.