Ukrainian Armed Forces Attack on Rostov: Damaged Sanctioned Tanker with Fatalities.

According to ТСН: On the night of December 18, during the attack of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Rostov-on-Don, the oil tanker "Valeriy Gorchakov" was damaged. As a result of the incident, the ship's cook and engineer died.

The tanker began to sink: the stern was flooded up to the superstructure. The attack caused damage to the wheelhouse and hull; there were breaches in the engine and steering compartments, and a fire broke out. The impact site was cordoned off, and the tanker was quickly surrounded by booms.

According to the regional emergency services, it was indeed the "Valeriy Gorchakov" tanker that was hit. Data from the MarineTraffic service confirms that the vessel was near the terminal where the transshipment of oil products was taking place at that moment.

History and Sanctions

The "Valeriy Gorchakov" tanker was built in 1969, and in 2004 it was refurbished for the transportation of oil products of all classes.

It is worth noting that the tanker is subject to sanctions from the USA, EU, UK, Canada, and Switzerland. According to the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the vessel has also visited ports in occupied territories.

It is recalled that earlier, the Security Service of Ukraine destroyed the tanker of the "shadow fleet" of the Russian Federation with aerial drones in neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

This attack is part of the prolonged struggle of the Ukrainian Armed Forces against the Russian fleet, and events surrounding the "Valeriy Gorchakov" tanker indicate an increasing activity of Ukrainian forces in this sphere. International observers are closely monitoring the situation, as sanctions against the vessel may impact the global oil products market.