An oil tanker carrying diesel suffered four external explosions near Dakar, Senegal, its manager said, the third vessel with links to Russia to have been struck over the last few days.
Seawater entered the engine room of the Mersin, Besiktas Shipping said in a statement on its website. The vessel remains stable, crew are safe and there’s been no pollution.
The incident is the third in three days involving vessels that have moved Russian petroleum. A person familiar with the matter said Ukraine’s security service was behind two such incidents in the Black Sea involving empty tankers late last week. Responsibility for other incidents hasn’t always been claimed.
Besiktas said it was supporting investigations into what caused the explosions and that it was working with insurers and Senegalese authorities to manage to consequences of the incident.
Shipping analytics firm Kpler says the vessel was transporting gasoil. It has called at Russian ports multiple times this year.
The Mersin has been stabilized after taking on significant water and is now under constant tug assistance and technical monitoring, Senegal’s port authority said. Authorities are first sealing the hull breaches to restore watertight integrity, then beginning cargo transfer to avoid destabilizing the vessel during pumping operations.
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