Ukraine Disables Russian Oil Smuggler at Sea

(BLACK SEA) – Ukrainian naval drones struck a Cameroon flagged oil tanker, the MARQUISE, approximately 210 kilometres southeast of Tuapse, Russia, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces has confirmed. The vessel is a sanctioned member of Russia’s so called shadow fleet used to illegally transport petroleum products.

The strike, carried out by marine drones, targeted the engine room and the propeller rudder assembly of the tanker. At the time of the attack, the MARQUISE was drifting without an active AIS signal, a tactic commonly employed by vessels engaged in sanctions evasion.

According to Ukrainian Navy Command, the tanker was likely awaiting a ship to ship transfer of petroleum products at sea, a method Russia has increasingly employed to circumvent international sanctions by loading oil away from monitored port facilities. The operation backfired when Ukrainian forces identified the vessel and deployed naval drones.

The MARQUISE has a cargo capacity exceeding 37,000 tons. It is subject to sanctions imposed by Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Switzerland, New Zealand and Canada. The vessel has been previously used by Russia to illegally transport sanctioned oil products.

Ukrainian authorities reported the tanker was empty at the time of the strike and was likely en route to Tuapse to collect oil for export. However, analysts noted the diminished utility of such a journey given the extensive damage Ukrainian strikes have inflicted on Tuapse’s oil terminal infrastructure in recent weeks.

“I doubt there is much fuel there left,” an open source analyst observed, referencing the drone strikes that have destroyed 60 percent of the Tuapse terminal’s storage capacity.

The targeting of the engine room and propulsion systems suggests a deliberate effort to disable rather than sink the vessel, consistent with Ukrainian naval doctrine aimed at disrupting Russian logistics while minimising environmental damage. Shadow fleet tankers are frequently in poor condition, and the analyst assessed that a successful strike on the MARQUISE could render the vessel permanently inoperable.

“The captain should have known better. Nowhere is safe in the Black Sea for Russian assets,” the analyst noted.

Ukraine has not yet released strike footage but typically does so within days of such operations. Further details of the engagement are expected.

Information regarding the strike were released by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.