A chilling open-channel distress call echoed across the airwaves early Friday as the Greek-flagged oil tanker Virat came under attack by Ukrainian unmanned maritime drones in the southern Black Sea, just off the northern coast of Turkey.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
“This is VIRAT! Help needed! Drone attack! Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!” a crew member shouted in heavily accented English, his voice trembling with panic. “Position four-two… three-seven point nine North… three-three… one-four-eight point eight East… Please help! Drone attack! Drone attack!”
The coordinates place the 13-year-old tanker (IMO 9299194) approximately 70 nautical miles northwest of Turkey’s Black Sea port of Ereğli and dangerously close to the entrance of the Kerch Strait.
According to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), the strike was carried out with next-generation “Sea Baby” naval drones in a coordinated operation that also targeted another shadow-fleet vessel, the Kairo, hours earlier. Both tankers are accused of transporting sanctioned Russian oil in defiance of G7 price caps and maritime insurance restrictions imposed after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Virat had already suffered explosions late on 28 November. Friday’s drone assault marked the second hit in less than 24 hours, underscoring Kyiv’s intensifying campaign against Russia’s “dark” or “shadow” fleet – a sprawling armada of ageing, often uninsured vessels flying flags of convenience to keep Kremlin oil flowing to buyers in Asia.
Turkish authorities confirmed the incident. Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu told reporters the Virat was struck by an “external impact” and that rescue tugs and coast guard vessels were dispatched immediately. Despite visible fire and smoke, the vessel remains afloat with only minor damage reported so far. All crew members are safe and there has been no oil spill detected.
Video and audio of the desperate mayday call spread rapidly across social media platforms, with the raw fear in the crew’s voice amplifying the dramatic footage of flames licking the tanker’s deck at night.
Since early 2024, Ukraine claims to have damaged or destroyed more than 20 vessels belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet. These low-profile but high-stakes attacks are designed to raise insurance costs, scare off shipowners, and ultimately choke a vital revenue stream that helps fund Russia’s war machine.
For the crew of the Virat, caught in the crossfire of a hybrid naval war thousands of miles from the front lines, the only priority in that moment was survival – captured forever in one haunting radio transmission:
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