kairos

The Kairos was struck in the south-west area of the Back Sea and the Virat in a central area further east.

Turkish authorities said they had been assisting the vessels, and released footage showing two of its own boats trying to extinguish the fire on the Kairos.

The targeted tankers were named by Turkish authorities as the Kairos and Virat, both flagged to Gambia.

The two ships, the Virat and the Kairos, were rocked by explosions off Turkey's coast late Friday, according to the Turkish transport ministry.

On Friday evening, Turkey's transport ministry said two empty oil tankers, the Virat and the Kairos, had reported explosions but sustained no casualties, saying they had been struck in Turkish waters but without saying what had caused the blasts.