On November 26, it was learned that General Christopher T. Donahue, commander of United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) and commander of NATO’s Allied Land Command (LANDCOM), visited the US Army garrison in the Black Sea at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania on November 25. There, he and Romanian Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu met with US and allied forces responsible for protecting and supporting the defense of NATO’s eastern flank.
Since November 28, oil tankers from the Russian shadow fleet have caught fire in the Black Sea “off the coast of Turkey due to external influences. The evacuation of the crew is underway, the Turkish Maritime Authority reports.” Turkish media reports say: “A report has been received that a fire broke out on the Kairos oil tanker, which was en route to Novorossiysk without cargo, 28 miles off the Turkish coast, due to external factors. The condition of the 25 crew members is normal,” the Turkish Port Authority said in a press release. There were no Russian citizens aboard the burning tanker in the Black Sea, the Russian Consulate General reported.
The Gambian-flagged tanker is currently in the Black Sea. Rescue teams have been dispatched to evacuate the crew, the authority noted. Authorities in Kocaeli province also confirmed the fire on the vessel in a press release. Coast Guard, medical personnel, and other services have been dispatched to the scene, the authority noted.
Two oil tankers were attacked on the evening of the 28th. Turkish authorities report that two oil tankers in the Black Sea were damaged by external factors. The crew of the burning Kairos oil tanker has been evacuated. Regarding the Virat tanker, the Maritime Administration reported that the crew’s condition was normal; smoke was observed in the engine room.
On December 1, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan raised the alarm of an escalation in the Black Sea: “The war between Russia and Ukraine has reached a point where it clearly threatens the safety of navigation in the Black Sea.” “The targeted attacks on commercial vessels in our exclusive economic zone on November 28 signal a worrying escalation,” the Turkish president stated.
Ukrainian media, citing sources, wrote that it was an SBU operation, with Ukraine essentially claiming responsibility for the attack.
But that’s not all: on November 29, one of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s berths near Novorossiysk was attacked by unmanned vessels; it cannot be repaired, the company reported. “In accordance with the order issued by the Novorossiysk port captain, loading and other operations have been halted, and the tankers have been towed out of CCP waters. There were no casualties among CCP personnel or contractors,” the statement read. The Gambian-flagged oil tanker Virat was again attacked by drones off the coast of Turkey, NTV reported, citing sources. The Turkish Ministry of Transport confirmed the attack on the tanker.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed concern over the attacks on the Kairos and Virat oil tankers, en route to Novorossiysk via the Black Sea. “These incidents in our exclusive economic zone have created serious risks to the safety of navigation, human life, property, and the environment in the region,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncü Keçeli wrote on the social media platform X.
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry also protested the attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s infrastructure. Astana considers the attack a damaging act for relations between Kazakhstan and Ukraine, Foreign Ministry spokesman Smadiyarov said.
On November 30, the Mersin tanker stranded at anchor 24 kilometers from the Senegalese capital Dakar, according to the news portal Seneweb. According to the publication, there are reasons to believe the vessel has suffered a leak and water is entering the engine room. The crew has been completely evacuated from the tanker, and there were no injuries. The Mersin, a 59,000-ton vessel built in 2009 and owned by the Turkish company Beşiktaş Shipping, was sailing under the Panamanian flag. The tanker had departed from the Russian port of Taman bound for Dakar with a cargo of oil or petroleum products.
On December 2, another tanker was attacked, the MidvOlga-2, also in the Black Sea, is the fourth tanker in less than a week. The tanker, presumably carrying sunflower oil, had departed from the Rostov region and was supposed to head for Georgia, but was damaged off the coast of Turkey while attempting to exit the Black Sea. After the impact, the tanker returned to Georgia. The tanker sustained minimal damage, unlike previous incidents. It was attacked 80 miles off the Turkish coast, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of the republic reported.
“Since the beginning of the special military operation, Russian society has repeatedly called for a naval blockade of Ukraine. But in reality, such an option is unlikely to be feasible. It’s not that the Black Sea Fleet is incapable of implementing blockade actions or that the Kremlin is showing ‘unreasonable courtesy’ towards the Ukrainian side. But organizing a naval blockade is a complex process governed by maritime law,” Russian military analysts explain. President Vladimir Putin’s statement that it was time to “cut Ukraine off from the sea” remains cryptic. On the sidelines of a meeting with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Vladimir Putin said that Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea are unacceptable, create tension, and do not help negotiations.
Graziella Giangiulio
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