The Cordelia Moon tanker sailing towards Russia has paralyzed traffic in the Bosphorus Strait due to an engine failure, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the Turkish Ministry of Transport. The independent Russian-language website The Moscow Times recalled that four Russian tankers broke down in the Black Sea in just two weeks.
Türkiye had to completely block the Bosphorus Strait due to a ship that had an engine failure, the Ministry of Transport in Ankara reported, quoted by Reuters. The oil tanker Cordelia Moon broke down near Istanbul on Thursday.
The 274-meter-long vessel flying the flag of Panama was sailing from the Turkish port to Novorossiysk. A tugboat was sent to the scene. Traffic later resumed, Reuters reported.
Bosporus Strait Google Maps
A ship from the Kremlin's “shadow fleet”
The Cordelia Moon tanker was built in 2006. According to the British maritime daily “Lloyd's List”, the vessel is part of Russia's “shadow fleet”, which helps bypass sanctions imposed on Russian oil. The ship made numerous trade voyages between Russia and India. On September 30 this year, it was attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea, who mistook it for a British tanker. A drone attack caused a fire. The crew was not injured.
“The Cordelia Moon is at least the fourth tanker linked to the Russian fleet to break down in the Black Sea in the last two weeks,” reported the independent Russian-language website The Moscow Times, referring to the Reuters publication.
On the night of December 16-17, an SOS signal was sent by the tanker Volgoneft-109, which was in the area of the port of Caucasus (Krasnodar Krai in Russia). The unit carried four thousand tons of fuel oil. The captain reported a leak in the fourth cargo tank. There were 14 crew members on the ship.
Disaster of Russian tankers. “They broke in half”Southern Transport Prosecutor's Office of Russia
It broke in half and ran aground
December 15 during a storm in the Kerch Strait two tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 crashed carrying over nine thousand tons of fuel oil. One of the ships broke and sank, the other ran aground. As a result of the incident, one sailor died and 11 were taken to hospital. About four thousand tons of oil leaked into the sea – recalled The Moscow Times.
Reuters, The Moscow Times
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