Explosions strike three tankers in Mediterranean in February: all had prior stops in Russian ports, Reuters reports
Three oil tankers that had previously called at Russian ports have been struck by explosions in the Mediterranean Sea over the past month.
Source: Reuters
Details: These incidents mark the first time in decades that non-military vessels have been damaged by explosions in the central Mediterranean.
The first explosion took place on 15 February aboard the Greek tanker Seajewel while it was docked at a port in northern Italy. The blast left a metre-long hole in the hull below the waterline. A second explosion followed 20 minutes later on the same vessel but did not cause further damage. The Italian prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the incident.
Another vessel operated by Thenamaris, the oil tanker Seacharm, was also damaged by an explosion near the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.
In a third incident in February, the Liberian-flagged chemical and product tanker Grace Ferrum sustained damage off the Libyan coast.
Notably, the causes of the incidents are still unknown. All three vessels had recently called at Russian ports, according to ship tracking data.
Background: Two explosions occurred on the moored oil tanker Seajewel in the city of Savona, northern Italy. Ukrainska Pravda found that the vessel had been transporting Russian oil to Europe in violation of sanctions.
Read more: Russia continues to ship oil directly to the EU despite sanctions, investigation finds
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