According to a report by Lianhe Zaobao, Turkey stated on Saturday (November 29) local time that an oil tanker allegedly belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet” was attacked by an unmanned vessel off the coast of the Turkish Black Sea. This tanker was first attacked late Friday night (November 28).
According to a Reuters report, Turkey’s Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Saturday that the oil tanker “Virat” sustained minor damage in the attack, is currently in stable condition, and all crew members are safe. The statement said: “After being attacked by an unmanned vessel in the Black Sea about 35 kilometers offshore, the oil tanker ‘Virat’ was attacked again by an unmanned vessel this morning.”
On the other hand, Turkey’s Ministry of Transport also stated that authorities are continuing firefighting and cooling operations on another oil tanker heading to Russia. The Gambia-flagged “Kairos” was en route to the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk when it exploded and caught fire due to external factors at a distance of 28 nautical miles from the Turkish coastline.
Authorities pointed out that rescue teams have evacuated 25 crew members from the 274-meter-long “Kairos,” and all crew are safe. Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu confirmed on social media on the evening of the 28th that two empty oil tankers caught fire after separate explosions in open waters of the Black Sea that day, and rescue personnel had safely evacuated a total of 45 crew members from the two tankers. Turkish authorities stated that these tankers were not carrying oil at the time, so there was no risk of pollution. Data from the London Stock Exchange Group shows that both the “Kairos” and the “Virat” were included in the sanctioned vessel list after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war due to sanctions against Russia.
An official from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said on Saturday that Ukraine used underwater drones to strike two Russian oil tankers used for oil exports in the Black Sea. The anonymous official stated that this joint operation targeting “shadow fleet” vessels was carried out jointly by the SBU and the Ukrainian Navy. The official said: “Video footage shows that both tankers sustained significant damage after the attack and have basically lost their navigation capability. This will deal a major blow to Russian oil transportation.” Russia has not yet responded to this.
