Ambrey: Tanker at Ust-Luga May Have Been Hit With Limpet Mines

 

According to maritime security consultancy Ambrey Intelligence, the tanker that suffered three blasts in its engine room at the port of Ust-Luga last weekend was likely hit by limpet mines - and it was probably not the only one to have sustained similar damage. 

In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Suezmax tanker Koala suffered a series of three explosions in or near the engine room. The 24 crewmembers abandoned ship onto the pier, and the vessel's stern settled until it made contact with the bottom, Morspas said. No leaks of oil have been reported, and the cargo tanks are all believed to be intact. 

Ambrey reports that the blast holes in Koala's hull are substantial, measuring up to 12 feet by six feet. The damage "strongly suggests that the explosions were caused by limpet mines," the consultancy said in a statement. 

Ambrey added that other vessels with "a similar trading profile" have also been damaged by explosions - a previously unreported detail of the challenges facing Russia's "shadow fleet" of sanctions-skirting tankers. 

Koala is a 22-year-old Suezmax tanker owned by a Turkish firm and managed by a company in Cyprus. At the time of the casualty, she was in Ust-Luga loading a cargo of mazut - a Russian grade of heavy fuel oil, which is not covered by the G7's calibrated sanctions on Russian energy exports. 

Limpet mines are just one of the challenges Russia faces in exporting its petroleum to global markets. According to Reuters, persistent Ukrainian attacks on refineries and the growing impact of U.S. sanctions on the "shadow fleet" have curtailed Russia's ability to process or ship out its oil production. An estimated 12-14 percent of Russian refining capacity is offline because of Ukrainian drone attacks, and about a third of all Russia-linked tankers have been blacklisted by EU and U.S. sanctions. Without the means to either use or move their oil, Russian energy firms may soon exhaust storage options and could begin shutting in production, three Russian oil executives told Reuters this week - the first time since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine that this measure has been considered. Oil revenue accounts for 30-50 percent of the Kremlin's budget, and it is essential for financing the Russian military. 

Indian refiners - Russia's biggest oil customers - are working hard to fill the gap by finding new, unsanctioned tankers and operating companies to enter the "shadow fleet" trade, according to Bloomberg. About 14 percent of India's monthly oil imports are riding on the effort; if replacement tankers can't be found by March, Indian refiners will have to make up the balance with more expensive oil from other suppliers, like Middle Eastern producers - leaving millions of barrels of Russian crude undelivered.