MT Kairos

Last updated
History
NameKairos
OwnerFlag of the People's Republic of China.svg China
Port of registryFlag of The Gambia.svg The Gambia
Completed2002
Identification
General characteristics
TypeCrude oil tanker
Tonnage78,845  GT
Crew25

MT Kairos is a Chinese-owned, Gambian-flagged crude oil tanker.

2025 drone attack

On 28 November 2025, while approximately 28 nautical miles (52 km; 32 mi) off the coast of Kocaeli Province, Türkiye on route to Russia from Egypt, Kairos as well as the tanker MT Virat were attacked by Sea Baby unmanned surface vehicles operated by the 385th Unmanned Surface Vehicles Brigade, Security Service of Ukraine. [1]

In response to a mayday call, assistance was rendered by the Turkish rescue ship Nene Hatun as well as several boats of the Directorate General of Coastal Safety. [2] The crew of twenty-five were safely evacuated to Kefken with no significant injuries. [3]

Ukraine officially claimed responsibility for the attack. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 Lister, Tim (2025-11-29). "Ukraine says it hit Russian 'shadow fleet' tankers with underwater blasts in Black Sea". CNN . Retrieved 2025-11-29.
  2. "Türkiye shares status of KAIROS, VIRAT ships after explosion, drone attack". Türkiye Today. Retrieved 2025-11-29.
  3. "Kocaeli açıklarında patlama yaşanan gemideki mürettebat karaya çıkarıldı, ikinci gemideki mürettebatın gemi terk talebi olmadığı duyuruldu". birgun.net (in Turkish). Retrieved 2025-11-29.