SBU Drones Hit Sanctioned Oil Tankers Off Black Sea Coast

Two sanctioned tankers that transported Russian oil caught fire on Friday off the Black Sea coast of Turkey.

The tankers, Kairos and Virat, are believed to be part of the “shadow fleet” ferrying Russian oil to evade sanctions.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) later told Kyiv Post on Saturday afternoon that it struck the two vessels with the Sea Baby naval drones. 

“The SBU’s Sea Baby naval drones hit two sanctioned oil tankers KAIRO and VIRAT in the Black Sea, belonging to the Russian ‘shadow fleet.’ This was a joint operation of the 13th Main Directorate of Military Counterintelligence of the SBU with the Ukrainian Navy,” the SBU said. 

The SBU also released footage of the strikes, noting that the tankers were en route to Russia’s Novorossiysk to load fuel.

Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure initially reportedly the incidents on Friday evening. In its X update, the ministry said “explosions” were recorded on both vessels, leading to a fire on board.

It added that the vessels were not carrying oil at the moment of the incident.

“Following the explosions that occurred on the commercial vessels KAIROS and VIRAT, empty oil tankers in the open waters of the Black Sea, operations are being conducted in full coordination with our relevant institutions,” the update says.

The ministry later said the Kairos was traveling from Egypt to Russia at the time of the incident.

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The ministry also shared a video of the rescue operation, showing ships spraying water on the Kairos to contain the fire. All 25 crew members were safely evacuated, and the blaze was extinguished by Saturday morning.

However, the Turkish ministry reported that another explosion struck the Virat on Saturday morning, damaging the vessel’s starboard side.

“An attack was carried out again on the VIRAT vessel in the morning hours; minor damage has occurred on the starboard side. There is no fire on the vessel, and the crew’s health condition is good,” its Saturday morning update says.

“Rescue teams are waiting at a safe distance from the vessel for security reasons. The vessel is maintaining its stable condition.”

Initial reports suggested the vessels were hit by sea mines or unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), also known as naval drones.

Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said the impact was “external.”

“An external impact means the vessel was hit by a mine, a rocket, or a similar projectile, or perhaps by a drone, or by an unmanned underwater vehicle. These are the first things that come to mind,” Uraloglu told Turkey’s NTV television, according to an Al Arabiya report.

The maritime database Vessel Finder indicates that both tankers are flying the Gambian flag.

The Kairos is reportedly under sanctions by the EU and the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), while the Virat is also under sanctions by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in addition to the UK and EU.