Explosion Hits Oil Tanker Off Libya

(MENAFN) A vessel transporting approximately one million barrels of crude oil has experienced an explosion off Libya’s shoreline.

Although the detonation caused serious damage, there have been no reports of injuries or environmental contamination. The underlying reason for the incident is still unidentified.

The oil tanker Vilamoura, sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, had just departed from Libya’s Zuetina terminal and was heading toward Gibraltar when the blast happened on June 27.

The explosion triggered flooding in the ship’s engine compartment, rendering it immobile, according to a representative from the ship's operator, TMS Tankers, who spoke to the media on Monday.

As highlighted by a news outlet, this marks the most recent in a series of unexplained explosions involving oil vessels that had earlier docked at Russian ports.

Based on ship-tracking information, the Vilamoura had made stops at Russia’s Ust-Luga terminal in April and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near Novorossiysk in May.

Both facilities are known for managing crude oil originating from Kazakhstan.

According to maritime safety firm Vanguard Tech, which spoke to the news outlet, four other tankers have faced comparable explosions this year. All of them had also previously docked at Russian oil terminals.

These events occur amid intensified monitoring of seaborne traffic connected to Russia. Global sanctions imposed by the West on Moscow’s crude exports have altered major sea routes.

Authorities in both the US and EU have accused Russia and its business allies of deploying a “shadow fleet” of ships operating beyond Western insurance regulations to evade the sanctions.

Moscow, in turn, has continuously criticized such limitations on its maritime industry, calling them unlawful.

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