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Explosion Hit Liberian-Flagged Cargo Ship in Gulf of Finland En Route to Russia
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An explosion occurred on a cargo ship sailing under the Liberian flag in the Gulf of Finland while en route to Russia.
According to the MNS portal on February 5, the explosion took place on the MSC Giada III container ship, which was traveling from Belgium to St. Petersburg.
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The incident occurred in the Neva Bay area when an explosion went off in the ship’s engine room, causing a fire that quickly spread to the deck superstructure.
At the time of the explosion, there were 22 people aboard: the captain, a Russian citizen, and the rest of the crew members, who were citizens of Myanmar.
To provide assistance, the emergency rescue vessel “Spasatel Karev” and the icebreaker “Semyon Dezhnev” were dispatched from the port of St. Petersburg. The fire was fully extinguished within a few hours.
The ship's hull was not breached, and no fuel leaks were detected. After the fire was extinguished, the damaged container ship was towed to St. Petersburg port for further inspection.
In January, a Russian-flagged oil tanker, identified as part of Moscow's shadow fleet, navigated unusually close to Turkey's coastline while crossing the Black Sea. Satellite-tracking data from MarineTraffic and analysis by the open-source intelligence group TankerTrackers revealed that the vessel, named STRATEG, followed a route parallel to the southern Black Sea shore between January 15 and 30, avoiding the open sea.
TankerTrackers suggests that this navigation pattern was likely designed to reduce the risk of drone attacks, by staying within the air defense coverage area of NATO member Turkey.
Earlier, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Agency revealed a list of 66 vessels operated by Russia, Iran, and Venezuela, which are suspected of being involved in the transport of oil subject to sanctions and the theft of Ukrainian grain.
