Out of Control! Russian Tanker from Putin's Shadowy Fleet Stuck in Mediterranean Sea

The "Progress" oil tanker, which was carrying Russian oil, is stuck in the Mediterranean Sea near the coast of Algeria after its control systems failed, Bloomberg reports, quoted by Focus.

The tanker is known to have been traveling along the coast of North Africa to the Suez Canal with a cargo of about 730,000 barrels of Russian Urals oil.

After passing Algeria on Wednesday afternoon, the ship abruptly changed course and went outside shipping lanes. Early Thursday morning, its navigation status changed to “Not Under Control“ and its speed dropped to about one knot, according to tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

According to the agency's experts, everything points to the accident being caused by a technical malfunction on board the 19-year-old vessel. The vessel is operated by Legacy Marine LLC of St. Petersburg.

The tanker is under EU and UK sanctions. Since being added to the sanctions list, the ship's name has been changed twice. The tanker recently reflagged and was listed in the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.