On December 10, Ukraine's SBU security service used Sea Baby naval drones to attack the Dashan oil tanker, a vessel belonging to Russia's "shadow fleet," in the Black Sea.
Media outlets reported the incident, citing their own sources.
Flying the flag of the Comoros, the vessel was located in Ukraine's exclusive economic zone and was en route to the Novorossiysk port terminal. The tanker was traveling at maximum speed with its transponder switched off.
"This was a joint operation by the SBU's 13th Main Directorate of Military Counterintelligence and the Ukrainian Navy. The tanker sustained critical damage. The video shows powerful explosions near the stern. Preliminary information indicates the vessel has been disabled," sources told the publication.
According to sources, the estimated value of such a tanker is $30 million. A single voyage carries approximately $60 million worth of oil products.
The attack on the Dashan continues the SBU's systematic campaign against the Russian "shadow fleet." On November 29, Sea Baby drones struck two sanctioned tankers, the KAIRO and the VIRAT, which were also heading to Novorossiysk with their transponders disabled.
Having lost the European market due to sanctions, Russia has spent roughly $10 billion to establish its own shadow fleet to transport oil to Asia. According to the War & Sanctions portal managed by the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR), this fleet comprises over a thousand largely obsolete vessels lacking proper insurance, accounting for 17% of the global oil tanker fleet. In 2023, Russia generated $188 billion from oil exports.
The international community is ramping up pressure on Russian oil smuggling. In its new 19th sanctions package, the European Union plans to include an additional 120 oil tankers on its blacklist, bringing the total number of sanctioned vessels to 568. The EU is also developing legal mechanisms to detain "shadow fleet" tankers in the Baltic Sea.
