War in Ukraine: two kamikaze naval drones hit the tanker “Marquise”, member of the Russian ghost fleet

The extent of the damage is still being assessed. Ukraine announced on Wednesday that it had hit an oil tanker from the Russian ghost fleet approximately 210 km southeast of the city of Tuapse (Russia).

“This morning, a unit of the Naval Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces hit the ship Marquise using two unmanned kamikaze surface drones,” said the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in a statement published on Telegram.

“The strike hit the rear part”

The “Marquise” is a Cameroonian-flagged tanker, without cargo, with a capacity of more than 37,000 tonnes. It is subject to Western sanctions from Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Switzerland, New Zealand and Canada.

Operated by Lidoil DMCC (United Arab Emirates), this vessel was used for the illegal transportation of petroleum products, according to a report by the Ukrainian military intelligence service (HUR). The “Marquise” had already been singled out in recent months for deceptive maritime practices, particularly in the Kerch Strait and in the ports of Crimea.

This Wednesday, the ship was drifting approximately 210 km southeast of the city of Tuapse (Russia) without any AIS (Automatic Identification System) radar signal. This technique makes it possible to be loaded at sea by another vessel out of sight.

It was at this moment that kyiv decided to strike, without giving any explanation on how to track down the tanker before this attack. “The strike hit the rear part, at the level of the propulsion unit and the engine room,” the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces simply claimed.

For its part, Moscow has not yet confirmed the facts. However, the Russian ministry did indeed report on Wednesday April 29, indicating the interception of 98 Ukrainian drones over the territories of Belgorod, Rostov and Crimea.