Huge Russian Black Sea cargo ship sinks after Ukraine missile strike

A Russian railway ferry loaded with fuel tanks reportedly sunk in the Russian port of Kavkaz in the southern Krasnodar region on Thursday after a Ukrainian attack, Russian and Ukrainian authorities have said.

“The Kyiv regime carried out another terrorist attack on the territory of the Krasnodar region,” regional authorities wrote on social media. “A railway ferry carrying fuel tanks to Port Kavkaz was hit.”

The strike is the latest of a series of attacks on Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure by Kyiv forces. A Russian oil terminal holding as much as $200 million worth of fuel has been on fire for nearly a week following a drone strike.

Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmitry Pletenchuk on Friday told Radio Freedom that the ferry—Conro Trader—sank on Thursday in the port of Kavkaz after being struck by a Ukrainian missile.

“We can confirm the information that this target was destroyed by the Navy,’ Pletenchuk said. “This ferry is one of the vital links of Russian military logistics that provides for the occupying forces. First of all, [it carried] fuel and lubricants, but in addition, of course, it also transported weapons.

“Therefore, this is a completely legitimate target. And accordingly, this should reduce the potential of our enemy in those locations where they are conducting active military operations.”

Pletenchuk did not provide evidence for the claims, which Newsweek is unable to independently corroborate.

Russian sources, including Baza, a Telegram news channel with ties to the Russian security agencies, claimed that Ukrainian forces may have used a Neptune anti-ship missile to strike the ferry.

A firefighting train was deployed to the port to tackle the blaze, according to RIA Novosti. Emergency services initially told the agency that there were five people on the ferry at the time of the attack and their fate was currently unknown.

Krasnodar governor Veniamin Kondratiev later said that 17 crew members had been rescued, and two more were still missing.

Conro Trader was a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship sailing under the flag of Russia, according to MarineTraffic, an international monitoring service. The vessel was 358 feet (109 meters) long with a width of 71 feet (21.6 meters); its gross tonnage was reportedly 3,998 tonnes.

Port Kavkaz is one of the Russia’s largest passenger ports and connects the mainland with the annexed Crimea Peninsula. Ukraine has targeted the vital port in previous missile attacks.

In June 2024, Ukraine’s military confirmed that its navy had used Neptune missiles to strike an oil terminal and ferry crossing at Port Kavkaz, with satellite images appearing to show damage to its infrastructure.