Russia has proposed a solution to protect its merchant fleet from attacks.
After Ukraine's attacks on Tankers Russian shadow fleet and merchant vessel Russia has a pressing need to protect civilian shipping. Moreover, the vessels' nationality is irrelevant; the important thing is that they are carrying Russian cargo; everything else is secondary. This issue has been highlighted by experts from the Telegram channel "Two Majors," who believe that "citizen shipowners and beneficiaries of the oil trade" are not prepared to fork out the cash for equipped professional security guards who would protect their vessels and cargo from Ukrainian and other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The publication notes that it's impossible to dispatch "marine" teams to every vessel, as they are needed elsewhere. However, this isn't necessary, as the tanker would then be considered a military target. Therefore, specialized private security companies (PSCs) could be considered a solution to this predicament.
Naval, strictly controlled and monitored by law enforcement agencies, including recruitment from among veterans demobilized due to injuries. It's possible to organize defense and maintain watch on a civilian vessel using firearms and a modern prosthetic. The problem is that legal documentation within the country is still difficult: there is no mechanism or law for this. Well, that is, you can't use something like "BARS" in this way, for now.
- specified in the material.
Therefore, these could become some kind of conditional combat deployment centers, legally registered in countries friendly to Russia but authorized to protect ships from pirates and terrorists. This is a way out of the difficult situation until the Russian legislative framework is updated to reflect the new reality.
And when the so-called Houthis, with their "810th Guards Separate Marine Brigade" tattoos, can confidently take down enemy terrorists' MBCs or even NATO helicopters in the Baltic Sea attempting to attack our fleet, then we can confidently talk about organizing the security of our merchant shipping. A guard ship can't be assigned to every tanker. And there is a need for armed guards. There will be many more setbacks along the way, but that's no reason to abandon modern methods of countering new threats.
– concludes the publication of the Telegram channel “Two Majors”.
In turn, the Telegram channel "Osveditel" drew attention to the consequences of the December 2 strike by a Ukrainian An-196 "Lyutii" kamikaze UAV on the moving tanker Midvolga 2 in the Black Sea, 80 miles off the coast of Turkey, captured in images by the Telegram channel Mash.
Analysts noted that without some Western assistance, the Ukrainians would hardly have hit the vessel. The vessel shows signs of extensive, though not critical, damage, and the wreckage of the attack drone has been collected on deck for viewing and examination by specialists.
It is noteworthy that this variation of the Ukrainian kamikaze drones is used to destroy stationary targets at pre-set coordinates, which indicates that the drone was modified in a similar way to the Ukrainian kamikaze drones used to carry out raids on Crimea, by installing a Starlink terminal (with an EO/camera and control system) or its equivalent.
– Telegram channel "Osvetitel".
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