Russian Oil Tankers Covered in Nets to Ward Off Ukrainian Drone Attacks

▲ Russia under fierce attack using Ukrainian drones (The photo above is not related to the article.)

Russian oil tankers and port terminals equipped with nets to evade Ukrainian drone attacks have been spotted.

The British daily Financial Times (FT) released photos on the 12th (local time) showing Russian oil tankers covered in nets and metal cages.

The photos were taken by Yörük Işık, a maritime traffic analyst in Turkey.

Işık stated that the Karuzo, a Russian oil tanker subject to sanctions by the European Union and the UK, passed through the Bosphorus Strait and exited the Black Sea on the 11th covered in nets.

According to the photos he captured, nets are installed on the sides of the Karuzo's bridge.

The roof of the bridge can be seen covered with a cage.

The bridge is a structure protruding above the deck that allows the captain to pilot or command the ship.

Another Russian oil tanker, the Lizvel, which is also under Western sanctions, was also seen navigating covered in nets in the Sea of Marmara south of Istanbul, Turkey, according to Işık.

While it is widely known that Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, has installed nets on roads and other locations to avoid drone attacks, such scenes had not been captured at sea until recently.

The FT analyzed that while the nets and metal cages installed on Ukrainian roads and other areas were elaborately set up, those installed on Russian oil tankers appear to be makeshift.

The FT added that satellite imagery and other data show that other defensive facilities along with nets have been installed around the naval base at the port of Novorossiysk on the Russian Black Sea.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet is stationed at this naval base.

Samir Madani, co-founder of maritime intelligence firm TankerTrackers, said, "The crew of the Russian oil tanker Karuzo not only covered the bridge with nets, but they also went inside the nets themselves," adding, "(The fear they felt) is real."

Previously, U.S. Vice President JD Vance asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a phone call in late July to halt drone attacks targeting oil tankers in the Black Sea.

Vance's request was reportedly driven by concerns that Ukraine's attacks on vessels in the Black Sea could destabilize the international oil market and harm U.S. companies as well.

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