Ukrainian drone slams Russian tanker vessel near occupied Crimea
Фото: Ілюстративне / З відкритих джерел
On the evening of August 4, Russian SIG tanker vessel suffered a series of drone strikes, Ukrainian Security Service has already confirmed its leading role in the operation.
Some Russian media report the consequences of the attack, noting the tanker faced the accident in the Kerch Strait, used by Russian forces to base their trade fleet and transport stolen Ukrainian grain.
The vessel had recently arrived from Türkiye and was moored near the Crimean Bridge.
The audio recording, spread by Russian media, captured the negotiations of the sailors, discussing the aftermath of the accident and calling for the evacuation.
The crew says that the vessel is afloat but cannot move on its own.
The explosion damaged the tanker's engine room and superstructure, with no water entering the tanker, as the crew plans to examine the damage themselves later
Photo: Baza
The Russian chemical tanker SIG was delivering aviation fuel from Crimea to Syria, for which was later sanctioned by the US in 2019.
The Russian news agency TASS reported, citing the Taman Sea Rescue Subcentre, a group of rescuers had left Novorossiysk port for the Kerch Strait.
Photo: Baza
The local Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre confirmed the information about the rescue team that went to the strait area.
Photo: Baza
The Russian tanker had been damaged during the attack by the Ukrainian armed forces, noting the crew was safe.
Two tugs have arrived at the scene of the accident with the tanker in the Kerch Strait, the issue of towing the vessel is being resolved, the statement says.
The Russian Telegram channel Baza posted photos from inside the damaged tanker.
Photo: Baza
The vessel was about 30 miles from the coast when the drone hit the engine room and pump room.
There are 11 people on the tanker. Most of them have abrasions from broken glass, the channel reported.
Russian fleet press center said in a statement that water is being pumped out of the Sig tanker, which allegedly suffered a hole as a result of the drone attack. Despite the strike, the vessel is afloat.
Later, a video of a nighttime attack by a naval drone on the SIG tanker was posted.
Sanctioned by the US in 2019, the SIG tanker was involved in mass fuel supplies to Syria. At the time the sanctions were imposed, the vessel belonged to the shipping company Transpetrochart.
The US Treasury claimed a group of companies had worked out their way to supply aviation kerosene to Russian troops based in Syria.
Analysts from Lloyd's List Intelligence noted the tanker regularly sailed from the Azov and Black Seas to the coast of Syria, most of the time with its transponders switched off after the full-scale war outset.
