Explosion on board oil tanker in the Mediterranean, fifth suspected case. Kiev: part of Russian shadow fleet

An oil tanker loaded with one million barrels of oil, La Vilamoura, exploded off the coast of Libya.

Bloomberg reports this, adding that the explosion caused flooding of the ship's engine room and that the cause of the accident is still unknown. Since April this year, the tanker had been calling at Russian oil ports, including Ust'-Luga and Novorossiysk, to load Kazakh oil. The explosion was just one in a series of similar incidents involving ships that had already called at Russian ports.

The company that owns the ship stated that the explosion did not cause any environmental pollution and that the tanker's crew was safe. Vanguard Tech, a maritime risk consultancy, claims that since the beginning of the year, four other ships that had previously called at Russian ports have been victims of explosions.

The tanker that exploded in the Mediterranean Sea and was towed to the Gulf of Laconia in Greece is believed by Ukraine to be part of the Russian shadow fleet. This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Defence Ministry in a message on Telegram. The incident occurred on 27 June during the ship's transition from the Libyan port of Zueitina, 150 kilometres northeast of Libyan territorial waters. The tanker 'Vilamoura' was flying the flag of the Marshall Islands and was carrying at least 1 million barrels of crude oil.

The owner of the tanker is the shipping company Tms Tanker ltd, registered in Marousi, Greece. "The 'Vilamoura' has been repeatedly used to transport oil products from the ports of the aggressor state, Russia," says the main intelligence directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine: "for example, in April 2025, the tanker was at the Ust'-Luga port terminal, while in May it was spotted in the Novorossiysk area".