In recent months, suspected Ukrainian drones have targeted numerous vessels transporting crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in both the Black and Mediterranean Seas.
Authorities in Athens have reported that a Greek-flagged oil tanker was struck by a “missile or a drone” off Russia’s Black Sea coast. This incident follows a series of recent attacks on numerous ships carrying Russian oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), which are suspected to have been carried out by Ukrainian drones.
Kyiv has identified Russian oil and gas infrastructure, both within and beyond the Black Sea, as a priority target.
On Saturday, Greek Minister of Maritime Affairs Vassilis Kikilias disclosed that the Maran Homer, with 24 sailors aboard, had been hit earlier that day in close proximity to the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
He relayed, as quoted by Greek media, that the crew included ten Greeks, 13 Filipinos, and one Romanian, none of whom sustained injuries in the incident. According to the ministry, the oil tanker had departed from the port of Thessaloniki before it was struck by a “missile or a drone (UAV)” 14 nautical miles off the Russian coast.
Maran Tankers Management Inc., the vessel’s owner, stated that the Maran Homer was expecting to “enter the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) Terminal… where it would receive a cargo of Kazakh crude oil.” The attack resulted in only “minor material damage to the deck and deck equipment.”
Maritime Affairs Minister Kikilias described attacks on Greek-flagged and Greek-owned civilian ships as “unacceptable,” vowing to lodge a protest “at the level of the European Council.”
Last week, the Russian-flagged Arctic Metagaz LNG tanker was struck by Ukrainian unmanned boats in the central Mediterranean off the coast of Malta.
All 30 Russian crew members were successfully rescued by Russian and Maltese emergency services.
Russian President Vladimir Putin characterized the incident as a “terrorist attack.”
In January, the Malta-flagged Matilda oil tanker was targeted by Ukrainian drones in the Black Sea, as reported by the Kazakh state-owned oil company KazMunayGas (KMG). The ship had been commissioned to pick up cargo at the Russian port of Novorossiysk as part of the operations of the international Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC).
Last November, Ukrainian naval drones disrupted the work of the project, which is partially owned by US oil majors Chevron and ExxonMobil.