Greek tanker carrying Russian oil attacked in Black Sea – Bloomberg
The Greek-flagged oil tanker Skiros has come under attack in the Black Sea after loading Russian crude at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal.
Source: Bloomberg, citing sources
Details: Bloomberg sources reported that the Suezmax-class tanker Skiros had come under attack "after loading at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's terminal near Novorossiysk".
The report added that although the CPC primarily handles Kazakh oil, this particular cargo was of Russian origin. The attack took place near the terminal on Sunday 16 August.
Quote from Bloomberg: "That's the first strike on a vessel calling at the CPC terminal – the critical conduit for Kazakh crude exports – after almost a three-week lull in attacks. Last month, repeated drone strikes disrupted loading of CPC cargoes, that recently accounted for almost 2% of global oil supplies, and forced Kazakh oil fields to reduce production."
Details: An Athens-based company listed in the Equasis system as the manager of Skiros said that no one had been injured and no pollution had occurred as a result of the incident. It also said the vessel's owners are aware of the incident. The company declined to provide further comment.
At the end of last month, following a series of attacks on tankers, the CPC even considered suspending operations to avoid environmental and security risks but decided to continue operating.
Previously: A US government official said that in early August Ukraine had agreed not to strike certain non-Russian oil tankers and Black Sea infrastructure critical to the export of Kazakh oil after attacks on vessels disrupted loading operations the previous month.
Under the US-mediated agreement, Ukraine agreed to refrain from attacking CPC infrastructure and non-Russian vessels heading to the terminal, provided that the vessels were not subject to Ukrainian sanctions and were not carrying Russian cargo.
Background:
- US President Donald Trump said during the public part of his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in early July that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries were an escalation that could bring the war to an end.
- Türkiye called on Russia and Ukraine to take steps to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea after a drone attack near the Russian port of Novorossiysk damaged a Turkish-owned vessel and left three crew members seriously injured.
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