Russia Attacks UAE-Owned Ship in Black Sea With Drone

Russian forces attacked the VIVA, a vessel owned by a company from the United Arab Emirates, with a drone in the Black Sea. The ship was sailing from Ukraine to Egypt, carrying a cargo of sunflower oil.

The Ukrainian Navy reported the attack.

“…December 13, 2025, the aggressor state once again carried out an attack on a civilian vessel. The Russian Federation conducted a targeted UAV strike on the Turkish-operated ship VIVA, which was en route to Egypt with sunflower oil on board. The transit was conducted via the grain corridor. There were 11 citizens of the Republic of Turkey on board,” the Navy reported.

The strike was reported to have taken place on the high seas within Ukraine’s exclusive economic zone, beyond the reach of Ukrainian air defense systems.

The Navy said it remains in contact with the ship’s captain, and maritime search and rescue services are on standby. No crew members were injured, the vessel sustained no significant damage, and it is continuing to its destination.

The VIVA is a chemical tanker with an overall length of 136 meters, a beam of 23 meters, and a deadweight capacity of 16,116 tonnes. The vessel is operated by the Turkish company Chemtankers Shipping and owned by UAE-based VEVA Shipping.

Video footage suggests the crew extinguished the fire on board independently. One crew member displayed the drone’s engine, which appeared largely intact. The engine closely resembles those used in Shahed/Geran-2 drones deployed by Russia against Ukraine.

Given that the vessel was struck while underway and the engine was recovered, the attack was likely carried out by a Shahed/Geran-2 drone equipped with a camera.

While the exact range of this variant is unknown, Iranian presentations to the Russian military indicate that the Shahed-136, equipped with a video camera and supported by a relay drone, has a range of up to 220 kilometers.

This was the second attack on merchant vessels transporting cargo to or from Ukrainian ports. On December 12, Russia attacked a Turkish container ship in the port of Odesa.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have recently struck four Russian vessels: two “shadow fleet” oil tankers in the Black Sea (1, 2) and two ships transporting weapons from Iran in the Caspian Sea.

Russian channels also reported an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian tanker about 150 km from Yalta in Russian-occupied Crimea. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry denied any involvement in that incident.