The Ukraine According to reports in the Ukrainian media and the AFP news agency, attacked another oil tanker of the so-called Russian shadow fleet with drones. For the first time such an attack took place after a similar one Attacks on the Black Sea coast took place in the Mediterranean, reported the Kyiv Independent, the Ukrainskaya Pravda and the news portal RBK Ukraina citing circles in the domestic secret service SBU.
It was a “new, unprecedented special operation,” an SBU representative told the AFP agency. The tanker Qendil had “suffered serious damage” and could “no longer be used for its intended purpose”. The ship was not loaded at the time of the attack, so there was no danger to the environment. The ship was used to evade Western sanctions and export Russian oil, making it an “absolutely legitimate target.”
Ukrainian media, citing the SBU, published a black and white video that appeared to be from Drones was recorded approaching the ship and is similar to previous footage of drone strikes. A small explosion can be seen on the upper deck of the ship. However, approaching drones are not clearly visible. The video also does not show clear evidence of the “serious damage” mentioned by the SBU.
There are more than 400 ships on the EU sanctions list that belong to the Russian shadow fleet. These are mostly outdated tankers flying a foreign flag, which Russia uses to circumvent the oil embargo. The size of the fleet is estimated at up to 1,000 ships. Ukraine recently attacked several Russian oil tankers on the southern coast of the Black Sea.
The ship is apparently headed for a Russian oil terminal
The ship Qendil sails according to the ship tracking services Vessel finder and Marine traffic under the flag of Oman. Accordingly, it is currently located southwest of the southern coast of Crete and therefore almost 1,500 kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory. Ukrainian media, however, reported with reference to the SBU that the attack occurred 2,000 kilometers from Ukraine.
According to Vesselfinder, the ship is scheduled to arrive in Aliağa, Turkey, where there is an oil port, on Sunday. According to Marinetraffic, the… Qendil However, it will be on its way to Ust-Luga in the Russian Leningrad region, where the ship is scheduled to arrive on January 1st.
One of the most important Russian oil terminals for exporting the raw material across the sea is located there. The Ust-Luga terminal has been the target of Ukrainian drone attacks several times. Russia or Ukraine initially did not officially comment on the attack or further details about the ship.
