Three tankers that had previously called at Russian ports hit by explosions in the Mediterranean

At least three tankers that had previously called at Russian ports have been hit by explosions in the Mediterranean over the past month. Reuters reported today that Nicola Piacente, head of the prosecutor’s office in Genoa, said his office is investigating one of the explosions as a terrorist act. Some of the ships are suspected of possibly being involved in smuggling Russian oil into the European Union, in violation of sanctions imposed at the start of the war in Ukraine.

The Genoa prosecutor’s office is investigating the circumstances of two explosions that damaged the tanker Seajewel near the port of Savona on Saturday night. The first findings of the investigation have ruled out a technical fault or unexploded World War II ordnance as the cause of the explosions, the prosecutor’s office said.

In January, an explosion also damaged the tanker Seacharm. Both ships are operated by the Greek company Thenamaris. The company said Greek authorities are still investigating the cause of the January explosion. Both ships recently anchored at the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and then arrived at Turkish ports carrying cargo. According to customs records cited by Bloomberg, they loaded Kazakh oil at the Russian port, which would not have breached EU sanctions.

Other suspected explosions hit the cargo ship Grace-Ferrum while it was off the Libyan coast. The ship had previously anchored at the Russian port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea.

The shipping association BIMCO said it was aware of several cases in which explosions had damaged cargo ships that had previously called at Russian ports. „We are in contact with the authorities to find out more,“ the association said, declining to comment on the nature of the incidents.

News agencies also recall the sinking of the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major off the Spanish coast in December. Russia described it at the time as a terrorist act, without providing any evidence to support the claim.