M005-MAR NEGRO ATAQUE CARGUERO

VIDEO SHOWS: FIRE ON VESSEL / INJURED SEAFARERS / SMOKE BILLOWING / INJURED SEAFARERS ON EVACUATION BOAT LOOKING AT VESSEL ON FIRE

- Location confirmed by ship tracking data at the Black Sea

- The vessel was confirmed as vessel NADEZHDA by the foredeck, mast and hull that matched corroborating eyewitness visuals and archive imagery

- Date confirmed by official statement

- Turkey's maritime authority confirmed in a statement that the vessel was hit by a drone and damaged on August 3

- No old results were found posted online before August 3.

STORY: Three crew members were seriously injured after a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship was hit in a drone attack near Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, Turkey's maritime authority said late on Monday (August 3). Eyewitness footage showed injured seafarers evacuating by a smaller boat while the cargo ship continued burning. Reuters was able to confirm the location by ship tracking data at the Black Sea. The vessel was confirmed as vessel NADEZHDA by the foredeck, mast and hull that matched corroborating eyewitness visuals and archive imagery. Date of the footage was verified by an official statement. Turkey's maritime authority confirmed in a statement that the vessel was hit by a drone and damaged on August 3. No old results were found posted online before August 3. The Nadezhda was sailing from Novorossiysk to Turkey's northern Samsun port on Monday when it came under attack about 20 nautical miles off Novorossiysk, the maritime authority said in a statement. All 22 crew members were evacuated to Russia including three seriously injured, it said, adding that the fire continued to burn in the bow of the cargo ship. It was not immediately clear who was behind the strike on the ship. (Verification: Monica Naime; Production: Feline Lim; Writing: Ezgi Erkoyun,Jekaterīna Golubkova)