Russian product tanker Sig has been damaged in a Ukrainian sea drone attack in the Kerch Strait near the bridge that connects the Russian mainland with the Crimean peninsula.
has been damaged in a Ukrainian sea drone attack in the Kerch Strait near the bridge that connects the Russian mainland with the Crimean peninsula.The 141m-long 6,600 dwt ship, owned by St Petersburg-based Transpetrochart, received a hole in the engine room near the waterline on the starboard side, Russia’s Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport (Rosmorrechflot) said early on Saturday.
Tugboats were deployed to assist the vessel with 11 crew onboard after the attack rendered it incapable of operating on its own, Russia’s Tass news agency reported. According to preliminary information, the ship’s engine room was flooded and its cargo tanks were empty.
No casualties were reported in the attack, some 27 km south of the Crimean Bridge, but the bridge and ferry transport were suspended for several hours before resuming early on Saturday, according to officials.
The 2014-built tanker has been under US sanctions since 2019 for supplying jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria.
Conflicts at sea have escalated in recent weeks, following Russia’s withdrawal from a UN-brokered agreement that allowed grain to be safely exported across the Black Sea. Russia has continuously attacked Ukraine’s ports and grain export facilities, with Kyiv warning of retaliation. The latest attack in the Black Sea came after Ukrainian officials said on Friday that their naval drones struck a Russian warship at Novorossiysk naval base in southern Russia.
