On Friday, November 28, 2025, Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure reported that two nearly simultaneous incidents occurred involving the fuel tankers Kairos and Virat, both part of Russia’s Shadow Fleet and subject to Western sanctions, at distances of roughly 28 and 35 nautical miles from the coast of Kocaeli Province. Explosions took place on both vessels, resulting in fires separated by several dozen minutes. Fortunately, neither ship was carrying cargo, as both were en route to the port of Novorossiysk.
Photo: Internet
In the case of the Kairos, an explosion in the engine room triggered a fire, and the vessel began taking on water, creating a risk of sinking. The Turkish Directorate of Maritime Affairs confirmed an external impact. Initial reports suggest a naval mine strike or an attack by a surface drone. The 25-member crew was evacuated by the Turkish Coast Guard. The fire is being fought by the vessel NENE HATUN and the tug KURTARMA-12.
As for the Virat, it also suffered an external impact that caused a fire (which was extinguished). The crew reported an attack by five kamikaze drones over an open radio channel: This is VIRAT. Need help! Drone attack! Mayday! The 20-member crew was evacuated.
Turkey’s Minister of Transport, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, confirmed external factors as the cause of the explosions in both cases but did not identify those responsible. The Turkish Navy is monitoring the Bosporus Strait, but maritime traffic has not been halted. The fires were extinguished by the KEGM-10 and KEGM-9 vessels.
Karadeniz açıklarında boş petrol tankerleri KAIROS ve VIRAT isimli ticari gemilerde gerçekleşen patlamalar sonrasında, çalışmalar ilgili kurumlarımızla tam koordinasyon içinde yürütülmektedir.
⚓KEGM-10 ve KEGM-9 hızlı tahliye botları,
🛟 KURTARMA-12 römorkörü ve
🚨 NENE HATUN…— Abdulkadir URALOĞLU (@a_uraloglu) November 28, 2025
BİLGİLENDİRME‼️
Rusya’ya seyir halindeyken Karadeniz açıklarında patlama ve yangın meydana gelen KAIROS isimli gemide devam eden yangına, NENE HATUN Acil Müdahale Gemimiz ve KURTARMA-12 Römorkörümüz ile @kiyiemniyet’e bağlı ekiplerimiz müdahale etmeye devam etmektedir.… pic.twitter.com/gx7iG5Rc5F
— T.C. Ulaştırma ve Altyapı Bakanlığı (@UABakanligi) November 28, 2025
In July of this year, the Kairos was placed under sanctions by the EU and the United Kingdom, and in January of this year similar restrictions were imposed on the Virat by the United States, the EU, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Built in 2002 and sailing under the flag of Gambia (previously Panama, Greece, and Liberia), the Kairos is 274 meters long (Suezmax class) with a deadweight of 149,989 DWT. The Virat, built in 2018 and also sailing under the flag of Gambia (previously Barbados, the Comoros, Liberia, and Panama), is 250 meters long (Aframax class) with a deadweight of 115,643 DWT. Both vessels are owned by undisclosed Chinese entities.
If the involvement of Ukrainian surface drones is confirmed, this would mark the largest coordinated attack to date on Russia’s Shadow Fleet since the strike on the Russian oil and chemical tanker Sig during the night of August 4–5, 2023, near the Crimean Bridge.
Тривожно 🫂 https://t.co/oXUtJ6GhAW pic.twitter.com/CXbyfl1lSE
— IgorGirkin (@GirkinGirkin) November 28, 2025
Ukraine has been striking oil and gas production sites, refineries, pipelines, pumping stations and storage facilities to slow Russia’s war income from energy exports. The fire aboard the Gambian flagged shadow fleet tanker Kairos suggests a new front may be forming.#OSINT
1/3 pic.twitter.com/N6dUPKhlk4— OSINT Intuit™ (@UKikaski) November 28, 2025
Video of a fire on a tanker believed to be the VIRAT has surfaced.
As a reminder, two tankers belonging to the shadow fleet carrying Russian oil were attacked in the Black Sea today. The tankers were empty. pic.twitter.com/j1ZIsectsn
— Evgen Istrebin 🇺🇦 (@evgen1232007) November 28, 2025
💥🚢 Sea Baby naval drones strike two sanctioned Russian “shadow fleet” tankers in the Black Sea.
Sea Baby naval drones operated by Ukraine’s Security Service (SSU) have struck two sanctioned tankers of Russia’s shadow fleet — KAIRO and VIRAT — in the Black Sea.
At the moment… https://t.co/06rWD5oQLS pic.twitter.com/fhfYOLtDTj
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) November 29, 2025