A Turkish-owned oil tanker that recently visited a Russian port was heavily damaged by explosions off the coast of Senegal on Thursday. Security analysts said the bombing follows a campaign targeting ships accused of belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet”, confirming suspicions that the Ukraine war has spread all the way to neighbouring Senegal.
The tanker Mersin, was carrying nearly 39,000 tonnes of fuel, was hit from outside by four explosions, the ship’s operator Besiktas Shipping confirmed on Monday. No one on board was hurt.
“The situation was immediately brought under control, and we confirm that all crew members are safe; there are no injuries, no loss of life and no pollution,” Besiktas Shipping said in a statement.
Basil Germond, a specialist in international and maritime security at the University of Lancaster said “under the law of armed conflict, belligerents must distinguish between civilian and military targets,” adding: “That said, historically, in total wars such as the two world wars, commercial shipping was often targeted as part of economic warfare. So, energy exports can be considered as strategic objectives – similar to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid or Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries.”
Dirk Siebels, a specialist in maritime security at the Risk Intelligence consulting firm, said the tanker would likely be a legitimate target in Ukraine’s eyes.
The Mersin has been identified stopping at Russian ports on several occasions since the start of the year, including Novorossiysk and Tuapse on the Black Sea and Ust-Luga in the Gulf of Finland, according to Russian investigative outlet The Insider. Bloomberg has reported that the Mersin has a history of transporting Russian oil.
“From a Ukrainian point of view, of course, that’s still something that finances the Russian government – and therefore the Russian war effort in Ukraine,” Siebels said.
The explosions off Senegal’s coast come during a mounting campaign of attacks against commercial ships suspected of belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet” – ageing commercial oil tankers with often opaque ownership structures used by Moscow to export its oil and gas and slip through Western sanctions.
The EU, US and UK have largely banned Russian oil imports, and companies based in G7 countries can only provide critical services such as insurance and transport for Russian oil being sold to third countries under a fixed price cap.
“This fits into the pattern of these vessels that have been attacked in a very similar fashion earlier this year,” Siebels said.
Seven vessels linked to Russia have either been damaged or sunk following “mysterious” explosions off the coasts of Russia, Spain, Libya, Turkey and Italy since December 2024.
In the days after the Mersin was wracked by explosions, two other freighters suspected of belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet” were attacked in the Black Sea. This time, Ukraine claimed full responsibility.
Sea Baby naval drones inflicted heavy damage against two ships off the Turkish coast last week. The Kairos and the Virat – both flying Gambian flags of convenience – were headed to Russia’s Novorossiysk oil terminal. Both ships were empty at the time of the attacks.
