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Tanker may have been damaged by limpet mines

The 'Koala' was suspected to have been damaged by limpet mines, according to the Ambrey Intelligence. The incident came after other ships with “a similar trading profile” have been damaged by explosions. The 'Koala' is suspected to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet. The three blasts in the aft section resulted in one hole measuring 1x0.8 metres and two larger holes of 4x2 metres in the hull, which strongly suggested that the explosions were caused by limpet mines. If confirmed, their use would point to a sabotage operation targeting Vladimir Putin’s “shadow fleet” which is being used to try to bust sanctions on oil trade with Russia. No leaks of oil have been reported, and the cargo tanks were all believed to be intact. The vessel has been boomed off as a precautionary measure. The next step for the salvors will beto lighter the cargo of 130,000 tonnes of mazut, which is so thick that it must be heated in order to pump it. However, the boiler is located n the engine room, and this has filled with seawater. Russia's Marine Rescue Service (Morspas) was working on alternative means of heating the cargo with steam so that it can be pumped off, and special pumps have been delivered from the port of Murmansk for the purpose of removing the thick, sludgy oil.

Russian shadow tanker may have been deliberately blown up

The owner of the 'Koala', which suffered three explosions during engine startup in the port of Ust-Luga, will have to remove the vessel from the port within three months, according to the port captain Igor Zolotykh’s order released on Feb 10. "The removal of the sunk property is to be performed within a period which does not exceed three months from the date of issuance of this order." The vessel's tanks contain almost 130 000 tons of oil products, of which more than 111000 tons are fuel oil. Russian investigative bodies did not rule out the possibility that the ship was deliberately blown up. Three holes have been found in the hull near the engine room during an inspection of the exterior using a mini-ROV. Russian security services believed that the tanker may have been mined. No explosives have been found aboard, but security services were inspecting the interior of the vessel with K9 teams and a thorough ROV survey was continued. In addition to the Russians, representatives of Finland have also begun to independently investigate the incident. To collect data on the consequences of the accident, the Finnish military sent a reconnaissance aircraft. The 'Koala' is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which helps the Kremlin bypass Western oil sanctions. Greenpeace has previously documented technical issues with the ship, noting that its crew disabled the AIS while sailing through the Baltic Sea. The last AIS data were from Feb 7. As well as changing its name five times and its owner three times, in the past year the 'Koala' has sailed under four different flags and had previously experienced technical difficulties. The crew had already turned off the AIS on an earlier journey through the Baltic Sea, a tactic employed by ships in the shadow fleet to avoid having their journeys monitored.

Ageing tanker partially sank following explosions in Russian port Ust- Luga

On the afternoon of Feb 9, 2025, the 'Koala' partially sank in the Russian port of Ust-Luga near St. Petersburg following explosions in the engine room with a cargo of 130000 tons oil. The port is located about 30 kilometers from the border with Estonia, just over 100 kilometers from Kotka on the southern coast of Finland. There were 24 persons on board, among them four Russians, eight Georgians and 12 Indonesians. On the early morning., the ship was preparing to sail when several explosions sounded in the engine room. Three separate blasts were reported. The 24 crewmembers abandoned ship onto the pier. The engine room flooded, and the tanker settled slowly by the stern until it made contact with the bottom. The remainder of the ship remained afloat, and at present no pollution has been reported. Oil booms were, howver, laid out. None of the crew members were injured. The cargo tanks remained undamaged. The cause of the accident was under investigation. The 'Koala' a Turkish-owned, Cypriot-managed Suezmax. is 22 years old, past the typical retirement age for a crude oil tanker, and has changed her flag state four times in the past year. The recent port state control control records showed infrequent checks, but no recent deficiencies. Finnish authorities have raised their alert level and the Finnish Border Guard has sent surveillance aircraft around the eastern Gulf of Finland. They have sent an official request to the Russian authorities and asked what is happening in Ust-Luga and whether they have the situation under control. So far, they have not received any answer, The authorities have asked both commercial operators and government vessels with oil spill response equipment to get ready. Report with photos: Подробнее: https://eadaily.com/en/news/2025/02/09/koala-fuel-oil-tanker-sinks-in-the-seaport-of-ust-luga-in-the-leningrad-region