Russian Drones Damage Tanker During Attack on Oil Terminal in Izmail
Russia appears to have intensified its attacks on the Ukrainian fuel logistics infrastructure with a series of attacks, including targeting the largest terminal in southern Ukraine. The Triton Oil Depot came under fierce drone attacks overnight, inflicting heavy damage and catching a tanker during its offloading operations.
The product tanker Excellion (7,842 dwt) had arrived from Sulina, Romania yesterday, August 19, reporting it was fully loaded, likely with diesel fuel. Built in 2008, the vessel is registered in Panama and listed as being operated by Makoil Group of the UK and managed from Estonia.
According to the Russian accounts, the tanker was alongside and unloading when the drone attack began on the Port of Izmail on Tuesday evening. The reports are saying the attack was staged with drones and that there were at least 20 direct hits. Reports said there were at least 30 explosions and a large-scale fire. It went on for approximately one and a half hours.
The tanker was at the Eastern Berth and sustained significant damage in part because the lines were pressurized for the ongoing offloading of fuel. Ukrainian media accounts are saying the starboard side of the vessel sustained damage, along with the pumping equipment, valves, and lines.
Local officials confirmed the attack on the terminal facility in the port, but only announced one injury. A total of 54 rescuers and 16 units were dispatched to respond to the fires and subsequent explosions.
(photo SSE)
Russian accounts are saying there were six large storage tanks in the depot. Two of them, each with a capacity of 5,000 cubic meters, were preliminarily reported as destroyed. A third tank was also reported damaged, with reports of a fire as it depressurized.
Other parts of the facility are also being reported as heavily damaged. This includes the fuel transfer infrastructure, high-pressure pumping station, and other controls.
Triton is a critical asset for Ukraine. It is reported to handle up to 20,000 tons of fuel and products each week. It is a key transfer station with the Russians claiming it was being used to supply Ukraine’s troops in the disputed eastern regions.
Last night saw a widespread series of attacks across Ukraine, including in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. The city of Okhtyrka in eastern Ukraine, north of Kharkiv, was reportedly targeted with a heavy barrage, injuring 14 people.
The attacks have increased on the fuel infrastructure, including a repeated series of attacks on the SOCAR facility near Odesa. Russia also struck the oil refining and gas transportation infrastructure in the Poltava region in central Ukraine.
New Video Shows Rare Drone-on-Drone Boat Collision off California
Reuters has released video footage of a collision between two cutting-edge drone boats off the coast of California last month. The incident appears to be the first high profile case of an accidental drone-on-drone vessel casualty.
The brief clip comes from a trial exercise involving multiple unmanned systems. The footage shows an immobile gray drone adrift, and a black drone approaching from starboard at high speed. The black drone hit a wave, rode up out of the water, struck and rode over the foredeck of the immobile drone, and appeared to continue on its course.
Reuters reports that prior to impact, the gray drone had stopped moving unexpectedly, and that Navy operators were attempting to diagnose a software issue with it when the black drone hit it.
The outlet identified the drones involved as models produced by Saronic and BlackSea Technologies. By visual identification, the drifting drone appears to be a Saronic Corsair, and the drone that hit it appears to be a BlackSea Technologies GARC. Both firms have been contacted for confirmation.
It was the second such incident in two months. On June 23, a BlackSea boat that was under tow accelerated unexpectedly after a human participant sent "an inadvertent command that turned the engine on." It hit a support boat, capsizing the vessel and tossing the skipper into the water. The skipper was unhurt.
The GARC is a widely fielded unmanned boat designed for high speed operation in combat. It is in full production and more than 100 units have been delivered. With a 1,000-pound payload, its mission sets include ISR, strike, survey work and interdiction. It supports both autonomous and remote-control operation.
Human-induced collisions occur regularly, but the unmanned incidents have attracted extra attention. Reuters reports that they are part of a string of setbacks that have prompted Pentagon leaders to question the success of Naval Sea Systems Command's Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC). The NAVSEA division is home of the troubled Constellation-class frigate program, the scaled-back Littoral Combat Ship program, and the Navy's various unmanned-ship initiatives, like the newly-announced Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC) program. PEO USC chief Rear Adm. Kevin Smith was removed from command of the division in May.
The reported shakeup at PEO USC comes as the Navy prepares to deploy more funding than ever for unmanned vessel acquisition. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act allocated $1.5 billion for small USVs, $2.1 billion for medium USVs, $188 million for unmanned vessel R&D, and $174 million for an autonomy test center.
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