Shadow Fleet Hit: Ukraine Disables Two Sanctioned Russian Tankers

Ukrainian naval drones have severely damaged two sanctioned oil tankers belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet in the Black Sea.

The Gaze reports this, referring to Babel and citing Ukraine’s Security Service sources.

The operation was carried out jointly by the Security Service of Ukraine’s 13th Military Counterintelligence Directorate and the Ukrainian Navy. Modernized Sea Baby drones struck the tankers Kairo and Virat as they sailed toward the port of Novorossiysk for loading.

Both vessels reportedly sustained critical damage and were rendered inoperable. Together, they had the capacity to transport nearly $70 million worth of oil, enabling Moscow to skirt international oil restrictions.

Reports on the evening of November 28 suggested explosions had occurred aboard two shadow-fleet tankers off the Turkish coast. Kairo is currently sanctioned by the UK and EU, while Virat falls under restrictions imposed by the United States and the European Union.

After the G7, the EU, and Australia introduced a $60 per-barrel price cap on Russian oil in December 2022, followed by price ceilings on refined products in February 2023, Moscow began assembling a fleet of aging tankers operating with transponders disabled to evade tracking.

According to the official data, Russia’s shadow fleet numbers around 600 vessels, carrying up to 70% of the country’s seaborne oil exports – nearly 1.7 million barrels per day. The fleet accounts for approximately 10% of the world’s petroleum-cargo shipping capacity and remains a key revenue source for the Kremlin despite Western sanctions.

As The Gaze previously reported, Russia has built up a vast “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, which now accounts for nearly one in every six such vessels operating globally.

In turn, the European Union is considering new sanctions against Russia's “shadow fleet” of oil tankers.