EXCLUSIVE: The 28-year-old Suezmax tanker CARUZO (IMO 9137648), which is under UK, EU, New Zealand, Canadian, Swiss, and Australian sanctions (but not US sanctions), sailed past us in Istanbul carrying one million barrels of Russian crude oil.
The first thing we noticed was that the crew had covered the superstructure with netting and boxed themselves in, apparently out of fear of Ukrainian drone strikes. The aft half of the vessel also appears to have additional protection in the form of cages dangling off the sides, intended to guard the engine room against attacks by sea drones.
The fear is real.
#OOTT #UkraineWar #Tankers