A Turkish tanker sailing under the Panamian flag was reportedly attacked by Ukrainian USVs (unmanned surface vessels) and is sinking off Dakar in Senegal.
The USV attack appears to be the third on Russian-connected shipping and follows similar offensive acts off the Turkish Black Sea coast on 28/29 November.
The Mersin apparently targeted by “several” Ukrainian USVs and was sinking as Senegalese authorities mounted an operation to prevent an oil spill from the 50 100 ton tanker.
Besiktas Shipping, under whose management the Mersin falls, in a statement said on the evening of Thursday 27 November, while the vessel was at anchor off the coast of Dakar, four external explosions occurred, resulting in seawater ingress into the engine room.
“The situation was immediately brought under control, and we confirm that all crew members are safe; there are no injuries, no loss of life, and no pollution. The vessel remains safe and stable, and it poses no navigational or safety risks to its surroundings. We are working in full cooperation with the authorized insurers and the relevant Senegalese authorities, managing the consequences of the incident and supporting the ongoing technical and forensic investigations,” Besiktas Shipping said on 1 December.
The Mersin is linked to Russia’s shadow fleet and had recently sailed from Russia’s Taman port. Shipping data cited by Turkish maritime outlet Deniz Haber indicates that the Mersin regularly called at Russian ports — including Novorossiysk and Taman — as part of crude oil transport operations.
Last week, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reportedly used Sea Baby USVs to disable two Russian shadow fleet tankers — Kairos and Virat — in the Black Sea. Both vessels were targeted on 28-29 November while en route to Novorossiysk and suffered significant damage. The Kairos caught fire, forcing the Turkish coast guard to evacuate the crew, while the Virat sustained damage but remained afloat.
The attacks on the Kairos and Virat were some 30 nautical miles off Turkey’s Kocaeli province, said to be “far beyond Ukraine’s earlier operational envelope”. Both tankers are listed in the OpenSanctions database for evading sanctions.
Experts have warned the scale of the Russia/Ukraine conflict could spill into surrounding regions, confirmed by the Black Sea strikes. The apparent Ukrainian USV attack off the West African country was seemingly the first in the Atlantic Ocean.
Ukraine uses its locally designed and built Magura and Sea Baby USVs to attack maritime targets. The Sea Baby, developed by the Ukraine Security Service, was first taken into service in 2022 when Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s country. It is reported to carry an explosive payload for use in kamikaze (suicide) attacks and can also be fitted with equipment for specialised tasks.
In October, Ukraine unveiled an upgraded Sea Baby with a 1 500 km range and 2 ton payload, an increase over the 1 000 km and 850 kg of previous versions of Sea Baby. The original version of Sea Baby has a length of 6 metre and is driven by waterjet propulsion for a top speed of 90 km/h.
The Sea Baby was developed mainly for delivering an explosive payload to strike stationary targets such as ships docked in port, while the Magura series is smaller and more agile and is designed for striking ships at sea, although it is suited for a wide range of missions including long-range maritime reconnaissance, combat, patrol, search and rescue, and mine warfare.
The Magurva V5 has a 320 kg load capacity, and comes equipped with an integrated electro-optical sensor. The vessel is capable of travelling distances of up to 800 km, enabled by a wireless communication mesh radio with an aerial repeater or integrated satellite communications such as Starlink.
Magura USVs have been widely used by Ukraine in the Black Sea, where they have successfully struck and sunk numerous Russian vessels. In December 2024 and May 2025, missile-armed Magura V5 and V7 USVs shot down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter and two Su-30SM fighters respectively.
(defence web)