The attack on Russian oil and gas tankers since the beginning of this year could be part of a campaign to threaten European transport companies that are actively engaged in Russian oil and gas exports.
The most recent incident occurred on July 6 on the Eco Wizard tanker in Ust-Luga. The cause of the explosion may be sabotage. "During the process of checking the ship with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles at sea, experts found 2 holes in the ship (1.5m in size) in the engine room area.
The metal had previously been bended in, according to the sources. This could indicate that the explosion occurred from the outside of the tanker," the telegram Baza channel wrote.
The Eco Wizard explosion is the sixth since the beginning of the year to involve ships transporting oil and gas from Russia.
The series of explosions began on January 17, when the incident occurred on the Seacharm tanker near Ceyhan, Turkey, where Azerbaijan's oil exports. On February 9, an explosion occurred on the Grace Ferrum off the coast of Libya.
In February, a similar incident occurred on the Koala tanker in Ust-Luga, Russia and the Seajewel in Savona, Italy. The explosion continued on June 27 on the Vilamoura oil tanker off the coast of Libya.
Analysts note that there was no Russian energy on board at the time of the explosions, but the ships had previously been involved in transporting Russian energy. At the same time, the incident vessels are mainly owned or operated by famous and uncted European companies: Thenamaris Greece, TMS tankers and Stealth Maritime.
Ukraine has sought to pressure companies that own oil tankers in Greece, blackmailing them. However, ship owners are only affected by sanctions imposed by the US and EU.
"The latest bombings of suspected Ukrainian saboteurs appear to be part of a comprehensive threat campaign against ship owners and operators allowing ships to dock in Russian ports," The TradeWinds quoted analysts as saying.
"With no authentic evidence or investigation results, the overall connection of the case is enough for some private security companies and industry organizations to discuss separately the possibility of these explosions being related to Ukraine," The Lloyd's List said.
The weekly edition notes: "Although the report does not mention Ukraine, in private conversations between private security analysts and the government, Ukrainian actors are mentioned as a potential and potential source of explosions."
Washington has used closed political channels to warn Kiev to stop immediately if it is involved in the bombings. "However, the explosion with the Vilamoura shows that the people behind the explosions were not paying attention to any warnings," The Lloyd's List stressed.
Experts pointed out that in January and February, the saboteurs used mines to install on the sides of the ship, but on the Vilamoura, the blast occurred inside the engine room. The mysterious series of explosions forced ship owners to order shipwrecks checked by various means and underwater checks to detect mines.
