Ukraine’s naval drones strike Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast

ISTANBUL AP Ukraine used domestically produced Sea Baby naval drones to strike two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea an official from Ukraine s measure services reported The Associated Press on Saturday The two oil tankers Kairos and Virat explained to be part of Russia s shadow fleet that evade sanctions were struck in quick succession off Turkey s Black Sea coast late Friday afternoon The strikes prompted rescue operations by the Turkish coast guard and other teams Crew members on board both vessels were stated to be safe The SBU official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the operations provided a video of the alleged attack purporting to show the destruction of two tankers at sea The official revealed the two tankers were vessels that were sanctioned by the West adding that Ukrainian intelligence continued to take proceeding procedures to curtails Russia s financial capabilities to wage war against Ukraine Sea Baby naval drones had disabled vessels capable of transporting oil worth almost million hindering Russia s efforts to circumvent international sanctions the official explained Earlier Turkey s Transfer and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu revealed the tankers were possibly struck by mines missiles a marine vessel or a drone The incidents took place within Turkey s special economic zone he mentioned noting that Turkish government were in contact with their counterparts to prevent a recurrence and to ensure navigational safety He did not provide further details Uraloglu announced the Gambian-flagged Kairos had caught fire which was continuing in the vessel s enclosed areas on Saturday All crews were safely evacuated The Virat however was not ablaze and no evacuation request was made he added Bureaucrats had earlier released a fire in the Virat s engine room He minister the captain of the Virat tanker had issued a distress call over a drone attack Ukraine has previously targeted Russian shipping The OpenSanctions database which tracks people or organizations involved in sanctions evasion describes the vessels as part of a shadow fleet of ships used to evade sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine Ukraine has carried out accomplished naval strikes against Russian shipping during the war particularly using explosives-packed marine drones However Ukrainian missions have largely been limited to the waters of the northern Black Sea Representatives commented the Gambian-flagged Kairos caught fire in the Black Sea approximately nautical miles kilometers off the coast of Turkey s Kocaeli province It was sailing empty from Egypt toward Russia s Novorossiysk port Shortly after the maritime authority stated that a second tanker Virat was struck while sailing in the Black Sea about nautical miles kilometers off the Turkish coast Both tankers were under sanctions The VesselFinder website revealed the Virat was anchored north of the Bosphorus not far from its current position on Nov The Kairos last position was on Nov south of the Dardanelles Strait connecting the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara The United States sanctioned the Virat in January this year followed by the European Union Switzerland the United Kingdom and Canada according to the OpenSanctions website Similarly the EU sanctioned the Kairos in July this year followed by the U K and Switzerland The shadow tanker fleet continues to provide multibillion-dollar revenues for the Kremlin bypassing sanctions disguising its pursuits under the flags of third countries using complex schemes to conceal owners and poses important environmental threats OpenSanctions says in its website entry on the Kairos The Virat built in uses irregular and high-risk shipping practices and has previously sailed under the flags of Barbados Comoros Liberia and Panama OpenSanctions says The Kairos formerly flagged as Panamanian Greek and Liberian was built in