Ukraine hit two ‘shadow fleet’ tankers with drones in Black Sea, says security official
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Ukraine hit two ‘shadow fleet’ tankers with drones in Black Sea, says security official")
A naval drone struck a Russian oil tanker, Virat in the Black Sea on Saturday Photograph: (X\@viktorikolibri)
Turkey said on Saturday that an unmanned vessel reportedly attacked a tanker in Russia’s shadow fleet off its Black Sea coast, after the ship was initially struck late on Friday. The Turkish transport ministry said in a statement that Virat suffered some damage in the attack but is stable.
Ukraine struck two tankers used by Russia to export oil while skirting Western sanctions with marine drones in the Black Sea, an official from the SBU security service said on Saturday. The operation to hit the ‘shadow fleet’ vessels was conducted by the SBU and Ukraine’s navy, said the official while seeking anonymity. The authorities in Ankara earlier said that blasts rocked two shadow fleet tankers near Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait on Friday causing fires on the vessels, and rescue operations were launched for those on board. The SBU official said both tankers, identified as the Virat and Kairos, were empty and on their way to the port of Novorossiysk, a major Russian oil terminal.
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“Video (footage) shows that after being hit, both tankers sustained critical damage and were effectively taken out of service. This will deal a significant blow to Russian oil transportation,” the official said, but did not share the location of the strikes.
Ukraine has been calling for tougher international measures on Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’, which it says is helping Moscow export vast quantities of oil and fund its war in Ukraine despite Western sanctions.
Turkey said on Saturday that an unmanned vessel reportedly attacked a tanker in Russia’s shadow fleet off its Black Sea coast, after the ship was initially struck late on Friday.
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The Turkish transport ministry said in a statement that Virat suffered some damage in the attack but is stable.
“The Virat, reportedly attacked by unmanned vessels some 35 miles offshore in the Black Sea, was reportedly attacked again this morning by unmanned vessels. (Virat) sustained minor damage to its starboard side above the waterline,” the ministry said.
In a separate incident, Turkish authorities were battling fire on another Russia-bound tanker that caught fire after an explosion in the Black Sea, the ministry said.
The rescue teams evacuated 25 crew members from the 274-metre-long Kairos after the fire.
Turkey said on Friday that Kairos was heading to Novorossiysk when it reported an external impact causing a fire 28 nautical miles off the Turkish shore.
Kairos and Virat are among the ships subject to sanctions imposed against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
