Russian Tanker En Route To India Loses Power In Stormy Bay Of Biscay

Ship in the storm — Image for representation purposes only

A Russian-flagged tanker, Unity, has broken down in the stormy Bay of Biscay off the coast of France. The 16-year-old Aframax tanker, which departed Primorsk, Russia, on January 16, was carrying Russian oil bound for Mangalore, India.

The ship lost propulsion due to extremely stormy conditions in the Atlantic on January 23.

The Unity, owned by Moscow-based Argo Tanker Group, has been in service since 2009. The company acquired the vessel in September 2024, according to the shipping database Equasis.

The ship is 245.07 meters (approximately 804 feet) long and 42 meters (approximately 137 feet) wide.

The breakdown of the Unity follows a similar incident involving another Russian tanker, the Eventin. The 19-year-old Eventin, which was carrying nearly 100,000 tons of Russian oil, broke down in the Baltic Sea just two weeks prior.

The vessel was on its way to Egypt when it encountered issues near Rügen Island. German authorities managed to establish a towing connection and towed the vessel to the port of Sassnitz.

The Eagle S, another Russian tanker, has been involved in a Baltic subsea cable-cutting incident. Finnish authorities recently carried out a port state control inspection and found 32 faults on the vessel, three of which were severe enough to require repairs before the ship could continue operating.

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden have issued a joint statement expressing concern over Russia’s use of a so-called shadow fleet.

The leaders believe that the fleet poses a major threat to maritime and environmental security, especially in the Baltic Sea.

Last month, two tankers, the Volgoneft-212 and the Volgoneft-239, both Russian vessels, encountered trouble in Russia’s Kerch Strait. The Volgoneft-212, which was carrying 4,300 tons of fuel oil, broke in half, while the Volgoneft-239 ran aground.

Reference: NauticalVoice

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