Russia defuses magnetic mines on tanker at Ust-Luga

Russian authorities announced on Monday that they discovered and defused two magnetic explosive devices attached to the hull of a commercial tanker at the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region. Officials described the incident as a thwarted terrorist attack.

The devices were found on the Liberia-flagged liquefied petroleum gas tanker Arrhenius. Divers inspecting the vessel's hull located the objects near the engine room. According to statements from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and Investigative Committee, each device contained approximately seven kilograms of plastic explosive.

The tanker had arrived at Ust-Luga on May 20 after a voyage from the Belgian port of Antwerp. It was scheduled to load cargo before proceeding to the Turkish port of Samsun. Investigators stated that the ship anchored off Antwerp for approximately 36 hours prior to its departure, a delay attributed by the ship's agent to a port workers' strike. Officials identified this anchorage period as the most likely window for the placement of the devices.

Russia's Investigative Committee asserted that the devices were factory-made naval magnetic mines manufactured in a NATO country. A spokesperson for...