A tanker named Eco Wizard was damaged after two explosions occurred during ammonia loading operations at Ust-Luga port in Russia’s Leningrad Region, near the Estonian border on July 6. The incident caused the ship to start sinking and led to a leak of ammonia into the water.
Per reports from Russian authorities and media, the explosions happened in the engine room, about 10 minutes apart. The blasts damaged the hull of the tanker, and water began entering the vessel, causing it to tilt to the port side. As a result, ammonia began leaking from the tanks into the sea.
The Russian Ministry of Transport confirmed that an accident took place during the loading of ammonia at the JSC EuroChem terminal. The ministry called the ammonia leak “minor” and said emergency services were immediately activated to manage the situation.
A total of 23 crew members were onboard at the time of the incident. All of them were safely evacuated, and no injuries were reported. Emergency divers are being sent to inspect the ship underwater, and further cargo operations were stopped immediately after the blasts.
The Eco Wizard is an LPG tanker with a capacity of 40,000 cubic meters. It was built in 2024 and sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands, according to tracking data from the website vesselfinder.com. The ship had arrived at Ust-Luga from Belgium before the incident.
The Leningrad regional governor Alexander Drozdenko stated there was no negative impact on the environment. Meanwhile, Russia’s Baltic branch of the Maritime Rescue Service was placed on standby to assist with the emergency response.
The tanker Eco Wizard is suspected to be part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” a group of vessels used to export oil, chemicals, and other cargo while bypassing Western sanctions.
According to the consulting firm Vanguard Tech, six such explosions have occurred since the beginning of 2025.
The most recent case was on June 27, when a Greek-flagged oil tanker named Vilamoura, also linked to the shadow fleet, exploded near the coast of Libya. It was carrying one million barrels of crude oil.
Earlier in February, three other tankers transporting Russian oil were damaged in similar mysterious blasts:
- The Greek oil tanker Seajewel was hit by an explosion in the Italian port of Savona on the night of February 14 to 15.
- Another tanker from the same Greek company was blown up near Türkiye’s coast earlier that month.
- The Cypriot tanker Grace Ferrum was damaged in an explosion near Libya and almost sank after losing control.
All these ships had been previously recorded at Russian ports. Officially, the reasons for these explosions remain unknown.
References: Bloomberg, RBC Ukraine
MI News Network
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