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Investigation if tanker belongs to Russian shadow fleet underway

The Coast Guard is analyzing the black box of the 'Seajewel', which had suffered an attack while it was unloading its cargo of crude oil at the Sarpom buoys near Savona. The aim of the Genoa DDA is to verify whether the tracker was turned off during the voyage from the oil port of Arzew to Italy. The prosecutor Nicola Piacente and the prosecutor Monica Abbatecola, who have opened an investigation for shipwreck with terrorist purposes, have delegated Digos and the Coast Guard to investigate in detail to discover not only the perpetrators but also the motive for the attack. For this reason, chemical analyses were ordered on the oil and the ship's route, in order to verify any anomalies that could support the hypothesis of a connection between the tanker and the Russian shadow fleet, that traffics Russian oil by triangulating Russian ports with non-European ports or by refueling at sorting centers that operate covertly to sell Russian oil that is under embargo and therefore not marketable in Europe. Among the maneuvers and suspicious transfers cited by activists, one concerns the oil tanker 'Sealeo', which in August, before arriving at the port of Augusta, turned off its tracker for 84 hours. The ship was coming from the Russian port of ​​Novorossiysk and the owner of the 'Sealeo' is Thenamaris, the same as the 'Seajewel' and the 'Seacharm', which suffered an attack in mid-January off the coast of Turkey. Two experts have been appointed by the Genoa Public Prosecutor's Office, Federico Canfarini and the naval engineer Alfredo Lo Noce, to personally verify the hull of the ship, which left Savona on Feb 21 and arrived near Athens on March 26, and has not yet entered the Pureo dock for repairs. As of March 6, it was anchored in pos. 37° 27' N 023° 56' E. The first examination of the images taken by divers showed that the innermost hull of the tanker was dented by the explosion. The attack could have caused serious environmental damage if a second device had exploded together with the first instead of detaching and exploding on the seabed.

Italian prosecutor opens terrorism investigation

The Italian authorities have opened a terrorism investigation into the explosions that damaged the 'Seajewel', the chief prosecutor of the city of Genoa said on Feb 20. Two explosions blew a hole below the waterline of the Greek-operated ship, which was moored off the port of Savona-Vado and discharging oil. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the alleged attack on the 'Seajewel', which, like the other tankers hit by explosions, had recently called at a Russian port.

Terrorism, sabotage, mechanical failure or collision may be behind hull damage

Investigators of the Italian authorities were exploring terrorism or sabotage after two holes were discovered in the 'Seajewel', but did not rule out mechanical failures or a previous collision damage as well. The Port Authority for Savona iissued a statement confirming what it called “anomalies in the unloading procedure.” The tanker had moored at one of the oil terminal buoys to begin offloading. The “anomalies” were observed overnight between Feb 14 into Feb 15, and the supervisors as a precaution suspended the offloading operation. No spills or injuries were reported among the 23 crew members, but they were seeking to verify the origin of the anomalies. They had heard two loud bangs and reported an ingress of water. A subsequent survey of the hull revealed two damaged plates. The inner hull held and there was no leak. The Savona Prosecutor’s Office also brought in an elite team of divers to inspect the underside of the vessel. They confirmed that, there was a hole of about one meter length in the hull. The hull plates were bent inwards, which indicating an external force, and they found dead fish in the area near the damage to the hull. Italy’s anti-terrorism unit has also become involved in the investigation. The shipping company confirmed that an investigation was underway. In the past, the vessel had made frequent stops at Russia’s porr of Novorossiysk and traveling to Turkey, and had transported Russian oil on at least three occasions, in February, March, and May 2024. Security was being maintained around the 'Seajewel', while divers were working around the vessel.