Urgent Alert: Russian Tanker Drifts Off France’s Coast – Is It an ‘Environmental Bomb’?

A Russian tanker named Unity has recently gone adrift in the Bay of Biscay, raising concerns online. The ship lost propulsion amid rough seas on January 23, as reported by Splash247. With calls for attention, one user on BlueSky referred to it as an “environment bomb.”

The tanker set sail from Primorsk, Russia’s second-largest port, on January 16 and was headed to Mangalore, India, carrying Russian oil. However, it lost power in the Atlantic and drifted off course. The Unity is a 16-year-old Aframax tanker, which typically has a capacity of 80,000 to 120,000 deadweight tons.

Owned by Argo Tanker Group based in Moscow, the Unity measures approximately 804 feet in length and 137 feet in width. This incident highlights a continuing pattern of troubles for Russian maritime operations, especially as sanctions on Moscow’s oil transport increase pressure on the country’s economy.

Not long ago, another Russian ship, named Eventin, also faced issues. This Panama-flagged vessel was found adrift near Rügen Island in the Baltic Sea and was believed to carry around 99,000 tons of oil. German authorities intervened by establishing a towing connection to prevent it from drifting further.

As social media users responded, concerns about the environmental impact of the adrift vessels grew. Bart Gonnissen, a maritime pilot from the Netherlands, pointed out the ship’s precarious situation on X (formerly Twitter), emphasizing that it was “not under command.”

The future of the Unity remains uncertain. It is unclear whether French or other international authorities will intervene and tow the ship to safety before it suffers more damage. The ongoing challenges faced by Russian tankers underline broader issues in the maritime industry linked to geopolitical tensions and environmental risks.

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