Russian tanker Eco Wizard erupts in blasts, toxic ammonia leaks spark emergency

It is known that during ammonia loading operations at the terminal in the port, at least two explosions took place. After that, the tanker listed to the port side and began sinking. The damage caused ammonia to leak from the tanks.

The Russian Ministry of Transport has already acknowledged a "minor leak due to an incident during loading." According to Russian officials, twenty-three crew members were evacuated from the tanker. There are reportedly no casualties. Diving operations are planned.

"Emergency services at the terminal are currently working to eliminate the consequences of the incident. Further cargo loading was promptly stopped," the official statement said.

The tanker Eco Wizard sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands and may be part of Russia's shadow fleet. The ship arrived at Ust-Luga from Belgium.

Shadow fleet tankers attacked

The explosion on the Eco Wizard tanker is the sixth incident of damage to ships from Russia's shadow fleet, which transports oil and other cargo to bypass sanctions. On June 27, an explosion occurred on the tanker Vilamoura near the coast of Libya. It also belonged to the shadow fleet and sailed under the Greek flag. The ship was carrying one million barrels of oil.

According to the consulting company Vanguard Tech, since the beginning of 2025, there have been four other sudden explosions on vessels transporting Russian oil. Three of these happened in February:

• On the night of February 14 to 15, the Greek oil tanker Seajewel was blown up in the Italian port of Savona.
• Another tanker from the same Greek company was blown up near the coast of Türkiye in early February.
• The Cypriot tanker Grace Ferrum was blown up near the coast of Libya, also in early February. It lost control and nearly sank.

All the damaged ships were previously recorded in Russian ports and identified as tankers from the shadow fleet. The causes of the explosions are officially considered unknown.