The story of the sanctioned tanker Kairos has moved from Turkey’s waters to Bulgaria’s shoreline in just over a week. First came the naval drone strike off Turkey on 28 November 2025. Now the same ship sits very close to the Bulgarian coast near Ahtopol, damaged, half-crewed and watched by coast guards, border police and the navy. For anyone following maritime risk and sanctions at SeaEmploy.com, the case shows how “shadow fleet” tankers can suddenly turn from quiet sanctions stories into very real safety and pollution concerns.
Sanctioned tanker Kairos: background, size and sanctions
Sanctioned tanker Kairos is a large crude oil tanker, a classic Suezmax workhorse. The ship has sailed under several names and flags over the years.
The EU, UK and Switzerland placed the vessel under sanctions in 2025 for breaching the oil embargo and operating as part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” – the loose network of older, often lightly insured tankers that move Russian oil outside the G7 price-cap system.
By late 2025, tracking platforms showed Kairos sailing under the flag of Gambia.
Sanctioned tanker Kairos: the drone attack off Turkey
On 28 November 2025, naval drones struck Kairos and another sanctioned tanker Virat, in the Black Sea as both headed toward the Russian port of Novorossiysk to load oil.
Kairos sailed empty from Egypt toward Novorossiysk and, according to Turkey’s Ministry of Transport, reported an explosion and fire about 28 nautical miles off the coast of Kocaeli Province, within Turkey’s exclusive economic zone.
After the blast, the crew sent a mayday. Turkish rescue vessels and tugs responded, evacuated around 25 seafarers and brought them ashore at Kefken without serious injuries.
Initially, Turkish authorities spoke more cautiously and described the incident as an “external impact”, leaving the cause open to possibilities such as a drifting mine. As more information came out, Ankara acknowledged that Ukrainian drones had attacked at least one of the tankers and began to talk publicly about “very scary” risks to Black Sea navigation.
So by the end of November, sanctioned tanker Kairos already carried three labels at once: a Suezmax workhorse, a sanctioned shadow-fleet unit, and a confirmed naval-drone target.
From blast zone to Bulgaria: grounding scare and rescue efforts
The story did not end off Turkey. Damaged and partly crewed, Kairos drifted north-west across the Black Sea. On Friday 5 December, Bulgaria’s Transport Ministry said the ship had entered Bulgarian territorial waters and that the maritime administration, border police and navy had started a rescue operation. Strong winds then forced them to suspend the operation and keep the ship under constant surveillance.
The ministry identified the vessel as sanctioned tanker Kairos, previously hit in Turkey’s exclusive economic zone, and confirmed that 10 people remained on board and had requested evacuation. A border-police boat and a naval helicopter sailed and flew out, while two tugs and firefighting aircraft waited on standby for better weather.
Officials said Kairos dropped anchor about one nautical mile east of the resort town of Ahtopol and stopped moving. Bulgarian and regional media described the tanker as having “almost crashed” or “run aground” near the coast, but formally the authorities talk about an anchored ship riding out a storm very close to shore.
The Maritime Executive and other maritime outlets quoted Bulgarian authorities reassuring the public that there was no immediate danger of a major spill, while still acknowledging the uncertainty around the ship’s structural condition after the earlier fire.
For now, Bulgaria’s priority sits in three clear areas:
- Evacuate remaining crew safely when the sea state allows.
- Stabilise or tow the tanker away from the coast.
- Monitor for any leakage of fuel or residues that could threaten beaches and fisheries.
