Russian ghost fleet tankers use ‘Mad Max’ nets to fend off Ukraine’s drones

Russian oil tankers and port terminals are being decked out with anti-drone netting and cages to protect against Ukraine’s relentless attacks on Moscow’s energy infrastructure.

The Caruzo, a 28-year-old tanker sanctioned by EU and UK governments, sailed out of the Black Sea through the Bosphorus on Tuesday with anti-drone nets and stackable water tanks hung off its sides, according to footage filmed by shipping analyst Yoruk Isik.

Elaborate anti-drone nets and metal cages have become a crucial defensive layer on land in the Ukraine war, but until recently they had not been seen at sea. The images of the Caruzo showed a side of the ship’s bridge draped with a net and its roof covered by caging.

“Mad Max movies have nothing that can top this,” said Isik, who runs the Istanbul-based Bosphorus Observer consultancy. Another sanctioned tanker, the Rizvel, is also sailing in the Sea of Marmara south of Istanbul covered in nets, according to Isik.

Over the past two months, Ukraine has conducted one of the most intense assaults on shipping ever seen as it targets Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea in an effort to cut Russian oil flows.

The attacks have caused such chaos that US vice-president JD Vance last month requested that Kyiv halt strikes near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal in the Russian port of Novorossiysk, to protect US oil majors’ interests and avoid further destabilising markets.

The ships’ defences appeared more ad hoc than structures used on land in Ukraine, where some vehicles are covered in elaborate spiked metal cages. They aim to blunt the explosion by providing a gap between the warhead and the target, forcing detonation further from the object. The water tanks on the hull, similar to ones used on Russian tanks, aim to absorb the impact of air and naval strikes.

The Caruzo crew had not only covered the ship’s bridge with netting but had also “boxed themselves in”, said Samir Madani, co-founder of shipping monitoring website Tankertrackers.com. “The fear is real.”

The Black Sea is a critical route for Russian oil exports as well as Ukrainian grain, which has been targeted by Moscow in retaliation for the heavy attacks.

Rates for shipping cargo in the region have sharply increased, according to pricing agency Argus. “Recent incidents have prompted a significant number of shipowners to adopt a wait-and-see approach rather than take on additional risk,” said Sheel Bhattacharjee, head of European freight pricing at Argus. Insurance had also been restricted or was being offered at high prices, he said.

In Novorossiysk port, satellite images and open-source photos and videos have shown nets and other fortifications installed around the naval base housing the Black Sea Fleet and harbour approaches.

Large netted frames are visible on images of the base taken by Airbus satellites, as well as booms and barges which have been parked across the entrance to the military harbour to block seaborne entry — a protective measure that has been in place since March 2024.

Thousands of miles of roads across south-eastern Ukraine are also covered with fishing nets that form tunnels for vehicles to avoid attacks by the first-person-view (FPV) drones that now dictate moves on the battlefield and have revolutionised modern warfare.

But they do not offer total protection. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that his forces had conducted a “unique operation” overnight with Ukrainian anti-ship missiles, jet-powered aerial drones and sea drones to strike the naval base in Novorossiysk. He said the drones hit Russian ships, air defence positions, piers and seaport infrastructure.

The FT could not independently corroborate the claims. Video footage appeared to show Russian air defences trying to fend off swarms of aerial drones flying towards the port city overnight.

Additional reporting by Chris Cook in London