Turkish company Besiktas Shipping, the owner of the oil tanker Mersin, which was damaged off the coast of Senegal, has announced the cessation of all shipping operations with Russia.
“From now on, we will no longer operate any voyages related to Russia,” the company said in a statement.
The tanker Mersin, which previously called at Russian ports, was anchored off the coast of Dakar (Senegal’s capital) on 27 November. According to the shipowner, four external explosions occurred during the night, which caused water to enter the tanker’s engine room, no one was injured. The company assured that the vessel remains safe and stable and does not pose a threat to navigation or environmental safety.
“Throughout our operations, we have strictly adhered to all international sanctions regimes, the G7 and EU price restriction mechanism and all relevant trade restrictions,” Besiktas Shipping said in a statement. – However, the security situation in the region has deteriorated significantly. After a thorough assessment, we have concluded that the risks faced by our vessels and crews have become unacceptable.”
On 28 November, the Gambia-flagged tankers Kairos and Virat were attacked off the coast of Turkey (they are on EU and UK sanctions lists as vessels of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”). On the morning of 29 November, Turkey reported that Virat was attacked again and suffered “minor damage to the starboard side”. There were no casualties and the vessel did not sink. The Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed concern over the incident. The Ukrainian mass media quoted sources in the Security Service of Ukraine as saying that the attack on the two tankers in late November was an operation by Ukrainian intelligence and the Ukrainian Navy.
On 2 December, the Russian tanker Midvolga 2, which was heading from Russia to Georgia, was also attacked off the Turkish coast. The Rosmorrechflot said that the vessel was attacked by drones. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that Kiev was not involved in the attack, hinting at a possible provocation. Kiev did not comment on the attack on the tanker off the coast of Senegal.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on 2 December accused Ukraine of “piracy” in connection with the attacks on the tanker and said that Russia could step up attacks on Ukrainian ports, and noted that Russia could also consider measures against vessels of those countries that support Ukraine. According to him, Russia is capable of “cutting Ukraine off from the sea”.