New Age of Piracy

On March 26, a Turkish-operated oil tanker named Altura was attacked in the Black Sea.

Türkiye’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu made a statement, saying “A foreign-flagged ship operated by a Turkish company, which had loaded crude oil from Russia, reported an explosion in its engine room after midnight to our emergency call center. We believe that the engine room was specifically targeted. We think the attack was not carried out by a drone, but by an unmanned surface vehicle at water level.”

The tanker had 27 crew members. All Turkish nationals, crew members were reported safe.

UWI author, historian and political scientist Associate Professor Mehmet Perinçek was guest to Turkish Ulusal Kanal following the attack on the Turkish-operated oil tanker.

We present the main points of Perinçek’s evaluation.

Not the first attack

Let me begin by reminding that we are not discussing the first attack on Turkish ships or Turkish-operated ships. Previously, Turkish ships, commercial and civilian vessels, were targeted along the Black Sea coast. Also, in the Mediterranean, ships described as “shadow fleet” were targeted with drone attacks. What we are talking about now is a continuation of those attacks.

Ukrainian forces had earlier carried out attacks targeting Türkiye’s both trade and energy security. There were numerous attacks and attempted attacks against both TurkStream and Blue Stream, including their facilities and pipelines, both on land and at sea. Russia repeatedly warned Türkiye about these attacks, and we have seen those warnings intensify in recent times.

Influence of the UK

There is a critical point here: in recent days, the UK instructed its navy to intercept and board Russian “shadow fleet” vessels. The fact that the attack on the oil tanker Altura came right after this instruction shows that Ukraine, and the Atlantic powers backing it, are clearly behind this attack.

Türkiye’s silence

At this point, Türkiye needs to adopt a firm stance. In fact, it should be said more clearly: the continuation of these reckless actions is also because of Türkiye’s silence. They are emboldened by the fact that Türkiye hasn’t responded strongly enough, has not distanced itself from Ukraine, and far from doing so, has continued to support it diplomatically and militarily.

Till now, Türkiye hasn’t responded strongly enough, has not put distance between itself and Ukraine, and has even continued its support both diplomatically and militarily, this has emboldened such actions and allowed them to persist.

This situation is also connected to the shortcomings of the Turkish government. If Türkiye were to respond with clarity and determination in the face of threats to its energy and trade security, and deepen its cooperation with Russia, China, and Iran to a strategic level, it could be possible to prevent such attacks.

Therefore, before Türkiye lies the task of taking a decisive stance against these threats and building the necessary international alliances. Rendering the Black Sea a sea of peace and stability in terms of energy, trade, and security ultimately depends on Türkiye strengthening cooperation with Russia, Iran, and other Eurasian powers.

Bringing the US’ plunder and bullying policy to the Black Sea

Such actions are extremely dangerous in terms of energy and trade security. Targeting civilian vessels would turn the Black Sea into a conflict zone. Indeed, this is in line with the approach the US has adopted in the second Trump term. It totally disregards international law: assassination of heads of state, attempted assassinations of numerous government officials, seizure of ships, naval blockades: A system that completely abolishes international law, replacing it with one based on plunder and bullying. Ukraine is trying to bring its Atlantic patrons’ policy of plunder and bullying into the Black Sea.

Previous sanctions on the Altura tanker

Besides, the Altura tanker has been subject to sanctions in the past by the US and the West in violation of international law. These sanctions negatively affect people worldwide in trade, food, and energy security. So, countries and businesses are not obliged to comply with them. In fact, most of these sanctions are not based on United Nations resolutions.
Now, institutions, organizations, and companies that don’t comply with these sanctions, in other words acting in the interests of their own people, their country, and even the world at large, are being punished. As such, there is a link between such attacks and the sanctions.

The attack on the Altura tanker shows us that we are heading toward a very dangerous point: if law disappears entirely from the seas, it could usher in a “new age of piracy,” where anyone could target any vessel, seize ships, and demand ransom.

Ukraine and the Atlantic powers instructing it are taking actions that could spread this kind of unlawfulness on a global scale.