This is the third attack of this type in less than two weeks. Ukrainian maritime drones struck and disabled a Russian Ghost Fleet ship in the Black Sea on Wednesday, December 10.
As reported by Reuters and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in a statement, the attack was carried out using a Sea Baby naval attack drone in Ukraine’s exclusive economic zone.
The Dashan, named after the Comoros-flagged tanker, was sailing at full speed with its transponder disabled towards the Russian port terminal of Novorossiysk when it was hit by “powerful explosions”.
« Mis hors service »
According to sources, the attack caused significant damage, completely immobilizing the ship worth around $30 million, as shown in video footage provided by an SBU official.
Russia had no immediate comment on the incident, but Reuters was able to confirm that it was the Dashan tanker visible in the video by comparing the bridge, cranes and structures with archival footage. The location and date were confirmed by the testimony of an SBU source and by ship tracking data.
The attack against the Dashan, under sanctions from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, was also confirmed by three maritime security sources. No one reports any casualties.
“The SBU continues to take active measures to reduce petrodollar revenues from the Russian budget,” explains an SBU official. In the past two weeks, it is the third tanker in the decommissioned clandestine fleet, which had helped the Kremlin circumvent international sanctions. »
The operation, carried out jointly by the Ukrainian Navy and the 13th Directorate of Military Counterintelligence of the SBU, follows a first attack at the end of November near the Turkish coast, the Kairos and the Virat, two other tankers of the Russian ghost fleet.
Each time, kyiv used a Sea Baby drone. This naval machine, made in Ukraine and valued at around $300,000 per unit, can operate at distances of more than 1,500 km and carry a payload of up to 2,000 kg.