A Russian oil tanker hit by a Ukrainian drone began to sink near the sea terminal of the Novoshakhtinsky Oil Products Plant of the Russian Federation. 

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to Military .

Tanker began to sink near oil terminal

Three days ago, on December 15, Ukrainian forces had already struck the area, when a fire broke out about 850 meters from the tanker damaged in the current attack. The tanker itself was attacked on the night of December 18. Rostov Region Governor Yuriy Slyusar reported damage to the vessel, as well as deaths and injuries among its crew members.

In local publications, eyewitnesses noted that the attack on the region was likely carried out using jet drones.

According to eyewitnesses, after the hit, the ship began to sink under water: the stern was flooded almost to the level of the superstructure. The area of ​​the attack was quickly surrounded, and the tanker itself was fenced off with boom barriers. As a result of the attack, the ship’s wheelhouse and hull were damaged, holes formed in the engine and tiller compartments, and a fire broke out.

What is known about the tanker?

It later became clear that the tanker “Valery Gorchakov”, built in 1969, was damaged. The ship was originally built in Romania as a Project 1565 river dry cargo ship, but in 2004 it was converted into an oil tanker for the transportation of all classes of petroleum products.

The length of the vessel is 138.8 meters, width – 16.7 meters, height of the side – 5.5 meters, draft – about 3 meters. The deadweight of the tanker is 5.1 thousand tons. The owner of the vessel is the Volgo-Balt Service company. Джерело: https://censor.net/ua/n3591276

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