Tanker carrying Russian oil attacked off Dakar coast

A Panama-flagged oil tanker operated by the Turkish shipping company Besiktas was damaged by four external explosions off the coast of Dakar last week, shortly after departing from Russia, authorities in Senegal have said.

Safety measures were implemented about 10 kilometres (six miles) from Dakar’s coast to stabilise the tanker Mersin, which was carrying nearly 39,000 tonnes of fuel, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The cause of the explosions, which occurred on November 27 at around 23:45 local time, is unknown. However, some experts have suggested that the vessel’s Russian departure point could indicate a possible Ukrainian attack.

Besiktas Shipping said in a statement on December 1 that “when the vessel was at anchor off Dakar, Senegal, four external explosions occurred,” adding that “seawater entered the engine room.” The company confirmed there were no casualties and that “the situation was immediately brought under control.”

Authorities also reported no environmental contamination and said the ship remains “safe and stable.”

Senegalese port authorities said they responded to the distress signal from the Mersin, evacuated the crew—mostly Turkish nationals—and deployed resources to manage the damage.

According to ship-tracking site myshiptracking.com, the tanker had departed from the port of Taman, located in the Kerch Strait connecting Russia with Crimea, the Ukrainian territory annexed by Moscow.

By Aghakazim Guliyev