Third tanker carrying Russian oil explodes at sea
1 December 2025 16:03
Four external explosions occurred on the Mersin oil tanker carrying Russian oil, a representative of Besiktas Shipping, the company that operates the vessel, told Bloomberg, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The incident took place near the Senegalese capital Dakar off the west coast of Africa. This is the third such incident involving tankers transporting Russian oil products in a week.
According to Besiktas Shipping, the explosions and a hole in the hull caused water to enter the engine room of the Mersin, which was transporting diesel fuel. However, the vessel remains in a stable condition and its crew is safe. There was no environmental pollution, the company reported. According to Kpler analysts, the vessel was transporting gas oil (a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons, a product of oil refining) and called at Russian ports several times this year.
The Mersin was stabilized after a significant amount of water entered the vessel, Senegalese authorities said, and it was taken under towing support and technical observation. Specialists have begun to seal the hull holes to restore watertightness, and then the cargo will be transshipped to avoid destabilizing the vessel while pumping out water.
According to Besiktas Shipping, the company is supporting the investigation into the causes of the explosions and is cooperating with insurers and Senegalese authorities to address the consequences of the incident.
on November 28, it became known about the explosions on two sanctioned tankers of the Russian “shadow fleet” – Kairo and Virat – near the Bosporus in the Black Sea. According to Bloomberg, the accident could have been caused by sea mines. Both vessels were unloaded at the time of the accident.
The next day, sources from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported that both vessels had been hit by modernized Sea Baby maritime drones. After the attack, the tankers, which had previously called at Russian ports, were out of commission, the SBU said.
