ناقلات النفط림ية accrue Russian shadow fleet install protective equipment against Ukrainian drones
بدأت ناقلات النفط belonging to the Russian “shadow fleet” installing nets, metal structures and rubber tires to protect against Ukrainian drone attacks. Since August, at least 60 such tankers have passed through the Bosphorus, indicating the scale of the fleet’s response to growing maritime threats.
أبرز النقاط
- Roman shadow-fleet tankers began fitting nets, metal structures and tires against Ukrainian drones.
- At least 60 protected tankers passed through the Bosphorus from August onward.
- Shadow-fleet tankers have been passing through the Bosphorus in Istanbul almost daily since August.
- One protection method involves hanging rubber tires near the engine and rudder.
- Almost all photographed tankers are under US and other Western sanctions over Russian oil shipments.
- The new British sanctions package contains 31 measures, including sanctions on eight vessels planned for a new LNG shadow fleet.
- Ukrainian strikes on tankers are part of a broader campaign targeting Russian oil refineries and data-processing centers.
لماذا يهمّ ذلك
The modifications indicate that Ukrainian drone strikes pose a growing threat to Russian maritime oil exports, which remain an important source of Kremlin revenue. At least 60 protected tankers have passed through the Bosphorus since August, demonstrating the scale of the response by the shadow fleet. The protection measures are intended to counter surface drones as well as medium- and long-range FPV drones.
ماذا حدث
Russian oil tankers from the sanctions-evading “shadow fleet” have started installing nets, metal structures and rubber tires to protect against attacks by Ukrainian drones. Analysts who examined photographs of the vessels said the modifications appeared to have been installed hastily to shield vulnerable areas, especially the engines. Rubber tires are hung from the deck near engines and rudders to make it harder for drones to hit the ships and disable them.
The scale of the response has increased: since August, tankers have passed through the Bosphorus in Istanbul almost daily, and at least 60 vessels fitted with anti-drone protection have transited the strait. Almost all tankers photographed by Istanbul maritime analyst Yörük Işıık are under US and other Western sanctions because they transport Russian oil. The shadow fleet also operates outside international marine-insurance and shipping rules and often relies on Russian state-controlled banks for insurance and financial support.
كيف تصفه المصادر الأوكرانية
Ukrainian coverage presents the tanker attacks as part of a broader campaign of economic pressure on Russia that also includes strikes on oil refineries and data-processing centers. Ukrainian reports also emphasize the continued daily movement of shadow-fleet tankers through the Bosphorus and the growing number of vessels receiving protection against surface and air-based FPV drones.
كيف تصفه المصادر الدولية
International coverage highlights the sanctions status of most photographed tankers and frames the protective structures as evidence of broader danger to Russian shipping in the Black Sea and increased pressure on Russia’s foreign-currency oil revenues. Analysts and maritime observers also note that nets and cages are inexpensive and simple, potentially making them a widespread ship-protection measure.
الخلفية
Ukraine previously reported attacks on Russian tankers using maritime drones that move along the water’s surface. Similar metal protective structures have previously been used on Russian and Ukrainian military equipment, as well as by Israeli forces, to protect against FPV drones. In early October, the United Kingdom sanctioned eight vessels that Russia planned to use to form a new shadow fleet for transporting liquefied natural gas.