SEATTLE (Oil Monster): A Ukrainian drone attack struck a tanker docked at the Russian port of Rostov-on-Don early Thursday, resulting in casualties among the ship’s crew and sparking a fire at the facility, according to local authorities.
“Emergency teams are extinguishing the fire on the tanker that was struck while docked in a drone attack,” Russian news agencies quoted Rostov-on-Don Mayor Alexander Skryabin as saying. “A leak of oil products was avoided. Unfortunately, there are dead and injured.”
Rostov-on-Don is a port city in southern Russia connected to the Sea of Azov.
Reuters reported that regional governor Yuri Slyusar had initially reported the Ukrainian strike on the vessel and the casualties among the ship’s crew. The identity of the targeted vessel was not immediately clear.
The attack represents the latest escalation in a pattern of intensifying strikes on commercial shipping in the Black Sea region. The head of the UN’s International Maritime Organization on Tuesday called on both Russia and Ukraine to cease targeting civilian seafarers and merchant ships as attacks in the strategically vital sea lanes put crews and the environment at risk.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez issued his statement after a Turkish-flagged vessel carrying sunflower oil was struck by a Russian drone in international waters over the weekend. No one was injured, and the ship continued to its destination.
That strike came one day after Russian forces hit two Ukrainian ports, damaging three Turkish-owned vessels and sparking a large fire on one ship.
Ukraine has escalated its campaign against Russian shadow fleet tankers suspected of evading Western sanctions. Between late November and early December, Ukrainian sea drones struck three tankers—Kairos, Virat, and Dashan—in what Kyiv describes as efforts to disrupt Moscow’s oil exports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Moscow will “cut Ukraine off from the sea” and strike tankers from countries that support Ukraine in response to the attacks.
The International Transport Workers’ Federation has condemned the attacks.
“Seafarers are not a weapon of war,” said Mark Dickinson, vice chair of the ITF Seafarers’ Section. “No political or military objective justifies endangering civilian crews.”
The Black Sea is a critical trade route for grain, oil, and petroleum products, shared by six nations including NATO members Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. War risk insurance premiums for Black Sea voyages have spiked as the conflict spills into commercial shipping lanes.
“As the situation continues to escalate in the Black Sea, I call on all parties to refrain from targeting innocent seafarers, port workers and merchant ships,” Dominguez said. “Shipping should not be used as collateral in geopolitical situations and there is an increased environmental risk developing.”
Courtesy: www.gcaptain.com
