Oil Tankers Rocked by Mystery Blasts After Trips to Russia

By Alex Longley (Bloomberg) —

At least four oil tankers have been hit with explosions so far this year — all of them having visited Russia’s territorial waters in the weeks prior to the blasts happening.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the incidents, three of which have happened in the Mediterranean and one in the Baltic, and shipping industry officials say it would be premature to blame Ukraine. Kyiv hasn’t claimed responsibility and Greek and Italian authorities have launched investigations. There have also been other incidents involving Russian ships so far this year. 

“All the indications are that these have been deliberately orchestrated, but it’s with a significant degree of sophistication,” said Munro Anderson, head of operations at Vessel Protect, a major war-risk insurer of ships. “So, the big question that leads to is: ‘by who?’”

The blasts nevertheless point to heightened risk for tankers moving Russian petroleum. They come at a time when Ukraine has claimed responsibility for attacking a pipeline th…