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Sources say that a limpet mine could have damaged a Greek tanker near Libya in the latest unaccounted for attack.

Sources in maritime security said that a limpet mine could have been responsible for the blast which damaged a Greek oil tanker off the coast of Libya last week. This is the fifth incident in recent months to affect commercial shipping in this region.

On Monday, TMS, the Greece-based operator of the Marshall Islands flag tanker Vilamoura, said that the explosion occurred in the engine-room of the vessel as it was leaving the Libyan port Zuetina to head to Gibraltar on 27 June with 1,000,000 barrels of oil.

Four maritime security sources stated that a limpet-mine was the likely cause of this explosion, according to their initial assessments.

An informed company representative said that TMS would not be able to determine the cause of the explosion until the ship arrived in Greece on Tuesday, or July 2.

MarineTraffic's platform, which tracks ships, showed Tuesday that the tanker's final position was near Greece's south coast.

TMS said in a Monday statement that the ship's engine was flooded by the explosion and it lost its maneuverability. However, the vessel was still able to tow towards Greece.

MarineTraffic's data shows that the vessel made two stops at ports in Russia, including Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea and Novorossiysk on Russia's Black Sea.

In a recent report, Dryad Global, a British company that provides maritime cyber-defence and risk intelligence, said: "Investigations on the suspected limpet mining attacks on tankers are all linked to recent port visits at Russian ports. This indicates a targeted attack against vessels involved in Russian Oil Trade, probably driven by geopolitical pressures around Western sanctions."

The West has imposed sanctions on Russia for its involvement in the war in Ukraine. Separately, the Group of Seven major countries capped oil exports from Moscow at $60 per barrel.

In January and February of this year, three oil tankers were damaged in separate incidents by explosions around the Mediterranean. The causes are unknown.

These are the first incidents involving non-military ships that have occurred in the central Mediterranean region for many decades.

In February, a fifth tanker was damaged by explosions while anchored in Ust-Luga. This prompted divers in Russian ports to search for mines. Reporting by Jonathan Saul and Renee Maltezou; editing by Mark Heinrich

(source: Reuters)