Turkey's maritime authority on Friday reported a fire on a second Gambian-flagged tanker in the Black Sea, hours after crew members were rescued from the first tanker.

In a statement posted on social platform X, the maritime authority said the second tanker, Virat, was “struck” while sailing in the Black Sea about 35 nautical miles off the Turkish coast. It did not provide further details.

Rescue teams were dispatched to the scene to provide assistance. All crew members were safe although heavy smoke was reported in the engine room, authorities said.

All 25 crew members of the first tanker, Kairos, were confirmed safe.

The Kairos was sailing empty toward Russia's Novorossiysk port, the Directorate General of Maritime Affairs said on X, adding that it caught fire approximately 45 km off the coast of Turkey's Kocaeli province.

The maritime authority blamed the fire on “an external impact,” without providing details.

Kocaeli's Gov Ilhami Aktas told private news broadcaster NTV that the cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the area and efforts to evacuate the crew were close to completion, Aktas said.