On the morning of July 8th, in the south of the Crimean Peninsula coast, near Yalta, the tanker BLUE was hit and rendered inoperable by a Ukrainian drone Sea Baby.
The vessel was part of Russia’s phantom fleet, under sanctions from the United Kingdom since May 9, 2025, from the European Union since May 25, 2025, and from Ukraine since December 13, 2025.
According to navigation data transmitted by the crew, the tanker’s final destination was the Port of Constanta.
It should be noted that this does not mean that the Romanian maritime authorities issued any approval for the tanker to anchor in Romanian territorial waters or that the vessel was conducting any transport to a terminal in the country.
However, it does mean that the Port of Constanta continues to be targeted as a destination by the crews of Russia's phantom fleet vessels.
Starting from the night of July 6 to 7, Ukrainian maritime forces began a vast operation to destroy Kremlin's vessels in the Azov Sea and the Black Sea, aiming to halt the fuel supply to Crimea, a former Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia in 2014.
"Attacking the enemy's naval logistics infrastructure hampers the supply of fuel and ammunition necessary to support Russian troop activities, especially in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea," stated a Ukrainian armed forces release.
Over 14 tankers and barges have been damaged by aerial and marine drone attacks in the last few days in the Azov Sea and the Black Sea, according to multiple reports published by both Ukrainians and Russians.
Navigating Blindly
The BLUE tanker, a monstrosity measuring 265 meters in length and with a gross capacity of 85,000 tons, had loaded oil in Novorossiisk on July 5, which it unloaded at a terminal in Sevastopol, Crimea, two days later.
To conceal its route, Russia's phantom vessels disable their satellite tracking systems, use false documents, and input incorrect traffic data to mislead port authorities and avoid being tracked and destroyed by drones.
However, in maritime navigation, a vessel's location and route reconstruction can be done by correlating various signals from the ship, usually transmitted when it reaches its destination. Many port authorities condition anchoring on the use of traffic and satellite tracking systems.
By attacking and damaging the BLUE tanker, it is confirmed that Ukrainian maritime and aerial forces are conducting an operation to destroy Russia's phantom fleet operating in the Black Sea and supplying oil to Crimea.
A True Speculation
A month ago, on June 5, a Ukrainian drone failed in the Port of Constanta and self-detonated without causing casualties or material damage.
The incident sparked strong emotions in the country, especially since Romanian authorities failed to detect the drone that entered territorial waters, and for four hours while the autonomous vessel was onshore, they did not intervene, endangering the lives of thousands of people.
The Ukrainian drone was part of a formation of four unmanned ships, remotely operated, conducting a combat operation in the Black Sea, aiming to damage the tanker Safeen Elona, which had unloaded oil from Novorossiisk at the Midia-Năvodari terminal, Romania.
Following a massive Russian jamming operation to save the tanker, Ukrainian operators lost control of the drones. They failed and self-destructed.
The information about the operation was exclusively published by spotmedia.ro, citing anonymous sources familiar with the situation.
"There was speculation that these drones, all four of them, were tracking a vessel from the 'phantom fleet' of Russia, which came to unload oil at Rompetrol. It is not a vessel from the 'phantom fleet'; it is a vessel that has made these types of commercial routes between the Russian port of Novorossiisk, used by Kazakhstan for oil exports. As I said, it is not defined by the European Union or the United States on the sanctions list and has made this route several times," stated President Nicușor Dan, confirming the information through denial.
Safeen Elona Has Left the Black Sea
Everything that followed the incident with the drone reaching the Port of Constanta confirmed that the tanker that unloaded oil at the Midia-Năvodari terminal was and continues to be a target for Ukrainian forces:
- The ship was immediately withdrawn from the Black Sea and did not make any more oil transports from Russia to Romania;
- It transferred oil to the Crimean Peninsula, in Sevastopol;
- For over two months, Ukraine has been conducting a vast military operation, aiming to destroy vessels from Russia's phantom fleet, transporting oil and petroleum products to the Crimean Peninsula;
The Ship Has Changed
Romanian authorities have not learned anything from last month's experience.
Continuously, ships from Russia's phantom fleet transport oil from Novorossiisk to Romania and then to Crimea, being targeted by Ukrainian drone attacks.
After the withdrawal of the tanker Safeen Elona, it has been replaced by ALATAU, IMO 9416551 (unique vessel identification number), which, at the time of writing these lines, is unloading oil from Russia at the Midia Năvodari terminal.
ALATAU is a target for Ukrainian military forces since December 13, 2025, when it was subjected to sanctions following a decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The vessel has made trips between the Port of Constanta and Sevastopol, Crimea.
An Unlearned Lesson
The country's president and national authorities claim they cannot do anything about the vessels from Russia's phantom fleet bringing oil from Russia to Romania and conducting oil product runs to the Crimean Peninsula as long as they are not on the European Union or US sanctions list.
The passive attitude of the authorities has already endangered the relationship between our country and Ukraine, which accuses that a certain amount of fuel illegally reaches Crimea from Romania, being transferred through phantom vessels.
In addition, of the nine Russian ships destroyed by Ukrainians in the last 48 hours, transporting oil to Crimea, only two were on the European Union sanctions list: VENERA 3/VENUS III, IMO 9599353, and AURA, IMO 9624316. The other 7 ships damaged by Ukrainian drone attacks were not on any list.
Furthermore, the complicity at the level of Romanian authorities endangers both citizens and international relations due to corruption and playing a dangerous game with two sides.
