Russian Military Cargo Vessel Attacked in the Mediterranean

A Russia-flagged Ro-Ro cargo vessel Lady Mariia (IMO 9220641) was attacked by multiple aerial drones in the central Mediterranean, while sailing east after departing Oran, Algeria. The Lady Mariia left Oran in Algeria on September 1, and early on September 6 was plotted by VesselFinder 50nm east of Malta. The attack took place further east between Crete and Libya.

Video footage of the attack showed a number of drones approaching the Lady Mariia and dropping bombs onto the deck, initiating a small fire. The Lady Mariia, besides having a Ro-Ro capability and an internal deck often used for wheeled vehicles, also has substantial deck cranes permitting unloading at poorly-equipped harbors, and often travels with bulky deck cargo.

Reports from @nevzorovtv suggest that the ship was hit by more than 10 bombs, which were small enough to cause damage to the deck handling equipment and to the castle of the ship, without being big enough to penetrate below decks and to sink the ship.

??Drones attacked the sanctioned vessel Lady Maria (IMO 9220641) in the Mediterranean Sea near Crete, which was carrying weapons for Russia; the hits caused a small fire. The vessel left Algerian Oran and was heading to Syria. It is under US sanctions (as STELLA-MARIA) and… pic.twitter.com/ruCIWIpW3F

— ????MilitaryNewsUA???????? (@front_ukrainian) September 6, 2026

The area of the attack has seen attacks on Russian shipping in the past, most notably the attack in December 2025 on the sanctioned Omani-flagged dark fleet tanker Qendil (IMO 9310525) which eventually beached on the Turkish coast. Whoever mounted the attack leveraged the political chaos in Libya to find a base either to launch a boat from which the drones could be directed, or potentially used long-range drones launched from the Libyan coastline, supported by radio relays. In either case, or in any number of other possibilities, the attackers had good intelligence with which to place the target in a general area.

Course of the Lady Mariia to the point where it was attacked by numerous bomb-dropping drones on September 7 (Google Earth/CJRC)

The Lady Mariia has frequently been seen moving Russian military cargos, either to Russian outposts abroad, or to client states purchasing the services of the Africa Corps or buying Russian military equipment. The ship is believed to be managed by MG-Flot, which has a registered office in Akhty, in the Russian Federation Republic of Dagestan. The ship is sanctioned in multiple jurisdictions, both for violation of Iranian and Ukrainian sanctions.

No vessels from the Russian Navy appear to have been close at hand to provide any support for the Lady Mariia. Led by the Udaloy Class anti-submarine warfare destroyer RFS Admiral Levchenko (D605), and accompanied by the oil products tanker General Skobelev (IMO 9503304), the Ro-Ro cargo vessel Sparta (IMO 9268710), and the oiler Akademik Pashin (IMO 9778193), the latest Russian flotilla to visit the Mediterranean, passed east through the Strait of Gibraltar late on August 27, apparently heading for the Eastern Mediterranean. 

Top image of Lady Mariia in May 2025 by Wander (courtesy of VesselFinder)