A second sea drone attack in two days has damaged a product tanker belonging to a Russian shipowner near the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea, Reuters reported on Saturday.
No injuries or a spill were reported from the attack on the SIG, which was in ballast at the time of the attack early Saturday morning.
The ship was towed to Novorossiysk port, the Novorossiysk Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying.
Traffic across the Kerch bridge linking Russian-occupied Crimea with the mainland was temporarily halted, as were ferry operations, Reuters said.
The 6,619-dwt SIG (built 2014) was supplying fuel to Russian troops in Syria, the report added.
It is operated by St Petersburg headquartered Transpetrochart, an entity sanctioned by the US. The owner is listed as Ugra-Leasing.
The attack comes a day after sea-based drones attacked Russian navy ships near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, a key hub for the country’s oil exports.
Ship movements were temporarily halted, said the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, following the first Ukrainian attack on one of the main Russian commercial ports.
The attack reportedly damaged a Russian naval ship, the Olenegorsky Gornyak. Footage circulating on social media showed a listing ship in the aftermath of the attack.
Ukrainian news sources reported the attacks were carried out by Ukrainian armed forces.
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