Third Shadow-Fleet Tanker Hit by Suspected Ukrainian Drone-Boat Attack

Russian and Ukrainian sources report that Ukraine's covert operations agency has attacked another Russia-facing "shadow fleet" tanker in the Black Sea. If accurate, it would be the third strike on a foreign-flag tanker in a month by Ukraine's drone-boat units.

The target vessel has been named as the Dashan (ex name Mianzimu, IMO 9299666), a 2005-built Suezmax of 165,000 dwt. According to Ukrainian accounts, the vessel was under way for Novorossiysk to take on a load of Russian oil.

Dashan is associated with the former Gatik Ship Management fleet, and is sanctioned by the European Union and the UK for suspicious transactions involving Russian oil. Previously flagged in Gabon and Comoros, the vessel is currently stateless and flying a false flag, according to IMO database Equasis.

Video feed footage appearing to show the drone-boat attack has emerged on social media, and suggests that Dashan was hit at least two times in way of the engine room. The video footage shows a Ukrainian drone edging up to the tanker's port quarter as the vessel was under way, then driving under the counter of the stern and making contact with the hull. (The vessel was in ballast, exposing the counter and other areas normally submerged.) The blast was recorded by another drone.

A second video clip shows a similar drone approaching and making contact with the starboard quarter in approximately the same area, just forward of the rudder. The final clip shows smoke and flame enveloping the transom, and appears to show that the vessel was slightly trimmed by the stern after the strikes.

Surface conditions were calm in the footage, and the Dashan was under way at a slow bell with minimal wake - factors that would have facilitated the boat handling required for such a precision attack. The target selection - aft, under the counter - matched previous Ukrainian attacks and would favor flooding the engine room without causing a major spill or a sinking. Likewise, the selection of an unladen tanker would minimize the potential magnitude of any spill or fire; it also maximizes the target vessel's reserve buoyancy, with positive implications for its odds of staying afloat and odds of crew survival.