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Explosives Found on Tanker in Russian Port
🇸🇰 Slovakia /Conflict & Security

Explosives Found on Tanker in Russian Port

From SME · () Slovak

Translated from Slovak, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Russian security services claim to have thwarted a terrorist attack by discovering explosives attached to a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker in the port of Ust-Luga.
  • The FSB stated that divers found magnetic devices with approximately 7 kilograms of plastic explosives each near the engine room of the Liberian-flagged tanker 'Arrhenius'.
  • An explosives expert suggested the devices were hastily placed and disguised as garbage bags, possibly hoping to evade inspections.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Investigative Committee announced they thwarted a "terrorist attack" at the port of Ust-Luga. Agents reportedly discovered explosives attached by magnets to the hull of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker. The vessel, the 'Arrhenius', sails under the Liberian flag and had arrived from Antwerp, Belgium, with plans to depart for Samsun, Turkey, after loading.

Divers discovered foreign magnetic objects near the engine room that exhibited signs of explosive devices.

— FSBDescribing the discovery of potential explosives on the tanker.

According to the FSB, divers found "foreign magnetic objects exhibiting signs of explosive devices" near the ship's engine room. Each device allegedly contained about 7 kilograms of plastic explosives. The FSB did not specify the total quantity of explosives seized.

The weight of the plastic explosive in each device was approximately 7 kilograms.

— FSBDetailing the estimated explosive power of the found devices.

An independent explosives expert, Alexey Malyshev, suggested the devices were placed in haste. He noted that the explosives were attached to a dry surface when the ship was empty and its hull was high above the water, indicating no diving was involved. Malyshev added that the bombs were disguised as ordinary garbage bags, possibly in the hope that not all vessels undergo thorough inspections.

The explosives were placed on a dry surface when the ship was empty and its hull was high above the water. There was no diving involved.

— Alexey MalyshevAn explosives expert commenting on the method of placement.

The FSB also stated that during the ship's stopover in Antwerp, it remained anchored for about a day and a half, reportedly due to a port workers' strike. The Investigative Committee separately claimed the devices were "factory-made naval magnetic mines produced in a NATO country." FSB spokesperson Svetlana Petrenkova confirmed that FSB officers, along with the Ministry of Defense and National Guard, neutralized the explosives.

The explosives were disguised as ordinary garbage bags, which somehow stuck to the hull.

— Alexey MalyshevAn explosives expert describing the camouflage of the devices.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by SME in Slovak. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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