Ukraine says it used sea drones to strike two oil tankers that are part of Russia’s sanctioned shadow fleet and were a few dozen kilometres off the coast of Turkey.
The Gambian-flagged ships Kairos and Virat sustained explosions Friday evening after crews told Turkish officials the boats had been struck.
Kairos, which was headed to the Russian port of Novorossiysk, was partially engulfed in flames, and all 25 crew members were evacuated to safety. The crew on board Virat reported it had been hit twice and sustained what appeared to be minor damage. Neither vessel was carrying a shipment of crude at the time.
In a statement, an official with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said the attacks on the two ships were carried out by the SBU and the Ukrainian navy using “sea baby” drones, which can travel long distances and are equipped with reinforced warheads.
As long as they are not full of oil, which would cause ecological damage, Ukraine is doing us all a service in ‘retiring’ these boats. These shadow vessels are catastrophies waiting to happen, as they are below standard, non insured, poorly maintained, and falling apart while transporting crude oil and chemicals. They also turn off their transponders, increasing likelyhood of collisions.
When they spill their oil in your countrys waterways, you will have to pay to clean it up. It’s not cheap. To Putin that is an externalized cost for his invasions of neighboring countries.
The only way they stop is if it’s not economically sound. That happens when the ships start sinking. It’s cheaper to sink all the ships than it is to clean up an oil spill.
Help nature, help your wallet, help Ukraine, sink a shadow tanker.
Yes, but even an “empty” tanker will still have some level of oil in the tanks, plus the fuel in their tanks, plus whatever else is on board.
I was thinking this as well, but it seems to me that the risk of a full tanker ship sinking because of poor maintenance is extreme enough to justify taking them out when they’re mostly empty.
It’s another tough decision that Ukraine is being forced to make. They have my respect.
Fair enough