Drone Strikes Tanker Carrying Russian Crude Near Novorossiysk; Port Resumes
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
A Greek-operated Suezmax tanker loaded with Russian crude was hit by a drone near Novorossiysk on Aug. 16, Bloomberg reported. No crew members were injured and no oil spill or environmental pollution was recorded, the vessel's operator said. Novorossiysk suspended loading on Friday but resumed on Sunday, and on Monday a Suezmax tanker loaded Kazakh KEBCO crude, Reuters reported.
Key Facts
- The Greek-operated tanker Skiros was hit by a drone near Novorossiysk on Aug. 16 after loading Russian crude at the CPC terminal, Bloomberg reported.
- Novorossiysk suspended oil loading on Friday and resumed on Sunday; on Monday a Suezmax tanker loaded Kazakh KEBCO crude, Reuters reported.
- No crew injuries, oil leak, or environmental pollution were recorded after the Skiros strike, its operator said.
- The CPC terminal handles about 2% of global oil supply, and Russian crude accounts for 5–10% of its export volumes.
- Novorossiysk processes around 700,000 barrels of oil per day and is a key export route for landlocked Kazakhstan.
The Drone Strike
The Greek-operated tanker Skiros loaded a cargo of Russian crude at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal near Novorossiysk before the attack on Aug. 16, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The drone strike was the first recorded at the CPC terminal in three weeks, after repeated drone hits in July disrupted operations. Skiros has capacity to carry up to 1 million barrels of oil at a time. No crew members were injured and no oil leak or environmental pollution was recorded, the Greek operator said.
Port Operations and Exports
Novorossiysk suspended loading on Friday after the attack, and one tanker moved to open sea as storage tanks filled to capacity. The terminal resumed work on Sunday, and on Monday a Suezmax tanker loaded Kazakh KEBCO crude, with another tanker set to start taking 80,000 tonnes of KEBCO on Tuesday. Novorossiysk handles about 700,000 barrels of oil per day, including Russian Urals and Siberian Light and Kazakh KEBCO. Kazakhstan's July oil production fell 14% because of the attacks, according to Orda.kz.
US Pressure on Kyiv
The attack came days after the Financial Times reported that US Vice President JD Vance asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to refrain from strikes on CPC infrastructure and tankers entering Novorossiysk. Kyiv agreed not to attack CPC infrastructure or ships that are not under Ukrainian sanctions and are not carrying Russian cargo, according to the FT report. The Aug. 16 strike hit the Sheskharis terminal area, Orda.kz reported, noting the renewed attack demonstrated continued vulnerability of Russian port infrastructure.
2 sources
Drone Strikes Tanker Carrying Russian Crude Near Novorossiysk; Port Resumes
