Limpet mine may have damaged Greek tanker off Libya: Reuters
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This marks the fifth such unexplained attack to hit commercial shipping in the region in recent months.
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An oil tanker named Vilamoura, allegedly part of Russia’s "shadow fleet" (Social media)
A limpet mine may have caused the explosion that damaged a Greek oil tanker off Libya's coast last week, the fifth unexplained blast affecting commercial ships in the region in recent months, maritime security sources said Tuesday.
The Vilamoura, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker operated by Greece-based TMS, had departed Libya’s Zuetina port on June 27 carrying around 1 million barrels of oil bound for Gibraltar when an explosion occurred in its engine room, the company said Monday.
Initial assessments by four maritime security sources suggest a limpet mine was the likely cause, though TMS stated it could not confirm this until a full damage inspection is completed after the vessel’s arrival in Greece, expected by July 2.
Tracking data on MarineTraffic showed the vessel near Greece’s southern coast as of Tuesday. The explosion flooded the engine room and disabled the ship’s maneuverability, but it has since been towed toward Greece, according to TMS.
MarineTraffic data also revealed that the tanker had made previous port calls in Russia, including Ust-Luga in the Baltic and Novorossiysk on the Black Sea.
Possible targeting of vessels engaged in Russian oil trade
British maritime risk intelligence firm Dryad Global linked the recent suspected limpet mine attacks to ships with Russian port stops, suggesting a possible targeting of vessels engaged in Russian oil trade amid rising geopolitical tensions and Western sanctions.
Western nations have imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, including a G7-enforced $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil.
Earlier this year, three oil tankers were damaged by unexplained blasts in the Mediterranean in January and February. Another tanker sustained damage while docked at Ust-Luga in February, prompting Russian authorities to search for underwater mines in their ports.
These incidents mark the first wave of blast damage to non-military vessels in the central Mediterranean in decades.
