Tanker Attacked By The SBU Ran Aground: New Details
- 6.12.2025, 12:06
The ship was abandoned.
The sanctioned Russian "shadow fleet" tanker Kairos (IMO: 9236004), damaged by a Ukrainian maritime drone in the Black Sea, has found itself dangerously close to the Bulgarian coast after a Turkish tugboat aborted the tow and effectively dropped the vessel in Bulgarian territorial waters. According to the specialized publication Maritime.bg, the tanker is anchored about one nautical mile east of the town of Ahtopol, with about ten people on board who have requested evacuation.
Bulgarian authorities have engaged the Navy, the Border Guard Service and the Maritime Administration, but the rescue operation is hampered by a storm with a wave of more than four points, writes The Insider.
The tanker entered Bulgarian territorial waters on the afternoon of December 5 "from a southerly direction" and at first did not respond to calls from shore, according to the director of the Border Police Main Directorate Anton Zlatanov. Later, the crew established radio contact, complied with instructions and dropped anchor. The vessel, according to Zlatanov, is "standing stable opposite Akhtopol," but strong winds and sea swell make it impossible to either board the Bulgarian inspectors or safely remove the crew. The Border Guard Service and the Maritime Administration are constantly monitoring the tanker - from the shore, from the air, by radio and radar. The crew insists on evacuation, but, as Zlatanov emphasizes, in the current wave it is impossible to carry it out safely neither for sailors nor for rescuers.
Official communication from the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport and Maritime Administration confirms that Kairos was identified in Bulgarian waters as one of the two tankers hit by Ukrainian maritime drones a few days earlier. Following a request for evacuation, the Bulgarian side dispatched a border police boat and a navy helicopter to the vessel and then recorded that the tanker had anchored about one mile offshore. Two tugboats have been put on standby and the vessel is under constant surveillance.
Maritime.bg specifies that Kairos was brought to Bulgarian waters by the Turkish tug Timur Bey. The towing started on December 3, the initial destination was Tuzla, but then the tugboat changed its course to the Bulgarian coast. After entering the territorial waters of Bulgaria, Timur Bey stopped towing, disconnected AIS and left towards the Turkish port of Ineada. The Bulgarian authorities do not mention this fact in their official reports. The publication notes that it remains an open question why Bulgaria's maritime surveillance services did not react in advance to the movement of the 276-meter tanker going under tow to their coast.
According to observations of Maritime.bg correspondents from the shore, Kairos is anchored about 5-7 klettes from the pier in Ahtopol at a depth of at least 20 meters and rocky ground. There is no power supply on the vessel, but the movement of sailors on the deck is visually recorded. The regional administration of Burgas said that "there is no danger to the life and health of the inhabitants of the region and no data on environmental consequences": according to initial information, the tanker is empty and is not carrying oil. Maritime.bg recalls that the vessel was going "under ballast" and had no cargo when Ukraine attacked, although the amount of residual fuel in the tanks is unknown.
According to Maritime.bg, discussions are underway in Sofia to summon the Turkish ambassador over the fact that a Turkish-flagged tugboat actually left the damaged tanker off the Bulgarian coast. An anonymous maritime security specialist in a comment to the publication called what is happening "an absolute provocation against Bulgaria" - we are talking about the fact that a damaged vessel under sanctions was towed not to a Turkish port, but to a foreign coast and left there without warning the host country.
Bulgarian authorities have previously publicly expressed concern about the activities of the Russian "shadow fleet" in the Black Sea. Maritime.bg recalls that Bulgaria remains the only coastal country in the region that has not condemned Ukraine's strikes on these vessels.
Unian earlier reported, citing Ukrainian security services, that the explosion of two tankers of the "shadow fleet" - Kairos (IMO: 9236004) and Virat (IMO: 9832559) - was carried out as part of a special operation by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) together with the Ukrainian Navy. According to the Ukrainian security services, the targets were hit by modernized Sea Baby marine drones with an increased range and a reinforced charge. Both vessels were traveling empty to Novorossiysk to load and were severely damaged after the drones hit, effectively being taken out of service. As The Insider found out, the Kairos and Virat were formally flagged as Gambian, but were removed from the registry by Gambian authorities and remained flagless vessels in fact. Kairos is under EU, UK and Swiss sanctions, while Virat is under US, EU, Swiss, UK and Canadian sanctions.