Ukrainian drones strike Russia-linked tanker and Russian-owned oil platform

Ukraine has continued its escalation in attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure with direct hits on a tanker in the Black Sea and a Russian oil platform in the Caspian Sea, according to Ukrainian officials. 

Reuters has reported the first direct hit on Russian oil rig Filanovsky, owned by US-sanctioned Russian energy firm Lukoil. The attack, from at least four aerial drones, reportedly halted production at the facility, which is positioned hundreds of miles from Ukraine. 

A widely shared video and report attributed to a Ukrainian official at the country’s security service shows a series of water-based drone strikes on a tanker. 

The video, which may be disturbing to some viewers, can be seen at the end of this article.

Global news agency Reuters was able to verify the tanker as 164,600-dwt Suexmax Dashan by comparing file photos of the vessel’s deck, cranes and structures with the vessel shown in the video. The location and date of the believed strike were confirmed by the SBU source’s account and ship tracking data, although the SBU source reportedly said the vessel’s automatic identification system (AIS) was turned off at the time of the attack.

The tanker’s AIS data shows the vessel’s location as the Black Sea, off the Turkish coast and its last recorded movement on 9 December, while the attack was said to have taken place on 10 December. The destination port in the vessel’s digital log is listed as ’FOR ORDER’, often indicating that a vessel is seeking cargo or awaiting orders from its owner or charterer, and also used by vessels seeking to disguise their movements. Dashan visited the Russian port of Novorossiysk on 1 December, according to its log.

Maritime security analysts pointed to the vessel’s sanctioned status, appearing on European Union and British sanctions designation lists, and its unclear flag of registry. 

One analyst for maritime intelligence company Ambrey, Joshua Hutchinson, said the vessel’s flag is Gambia, which is listed on the vessel’s AIS data.

"Gambia-flagged, European Union-sanctioned, crude oil tanker Dashan was targeted by Ukrainian unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) 73 [nautical miles] southeast of Yalta. The vessel was en route from Dardanelles," he said.

Ambrey pointed to an escalation in attacks on Russia-linked vessels by Ukraine in an advisory for operators. 

"Ukraine has escalated maritime strikes, conducting overt USV and UAV attacks against Russian energy infrastructure and Russia-linked tankers. Russia has signalled readiness to expand retaliation, including strikes on Ukrainian ports and, if Ukrainian attacks continue, potentially on vessels belonging to states supporting Ukraine. Threat levels for tankers calling Russian ports and vessels calling Ukrainian ports have significantly increased, driven by both operational activity and strategic ambiguity," the advisory said. 

Ukraine security services also arrested a general cargo vessel in Odesa and its 16-person crew after what the SBU called evidence of "illegal entries into the ports of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine". 

"In Odesa, the Security Service of Ukraine has detained and seized a foreign ship that was part of Russia’s shadow fleet and illegally transported Ukrainian agricultural products from the temporarily occupied Crimea," the SBU said. "The SSU uncovered the Russian-controlled dry cargo ship in the commercial port of Odesa, where it arrived under the flag of an African country to export a batch of steel pipes." 

War-risk insurance premiums have climbed in response to the escalation in the Black Sea theatre of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Marine underwriting sources told Riviera that rates for calls at Russian ports in the Black Sea have risen to around 0.65% of hull value, up from about 0.50% before last week’s attacks. Other market commentators are citing levels of 0.70% to 0.80%, noting that conditions remain fluid and each vessel is being individually underwritten.

On 28 November, Ukrainian forces conducted USV attacks on two crude oil carriers.