Greek tanker attacked in the Black Sea after loading Russian oil – media

A Greek oil tanker came under attack in the Black Sea after loading a cargo of Russian origin, providing another example of how the country's war against Ukraine is disrupting oil flows, UNN reports, citing Bloomberg.

Details

The Suezmax-class tanker Skiros, capable of carrying about 1 million barrels of oil, was attacked after loading at a terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) near Novorossiysk, sources familiar with the situation said.

Although CPC mainly loads Kazakh oil, the cargo in question was of Russian origin, the sources said. The attack occurred on Sunday near the terminal, they added.

The publication notes that this is the first strike on a vessel calling at the CPC terminal—the most important channel for Kazakh oil exports—after an almost three-week lull in attacks. Last month, repeated drone strikes disrupted the loading of CPC cargoes, which recently accounted for nearly 2% of global oil supplies, and forced Kazakh oil fields to cut production.

CPC declined to comment on its operations or on matters related to oil supplies from producers. A representative of the General Staff of Ukraine said that he had no information to comment on the issue.

In addition

Earlier this month, Ukraine agreed to refrain from attacking CPC infrastructure and vessels that are not Russian and are heading to the marine terminal, provided that these vessels are not subject to Ukrainian sanctions and are not carrying Russian cargo, a U.S. official said. Oil of Russian origin usually accounts for between 5% and 10% of CPC exports.

The media outlet notes that the latest attack increases the risks to CPC's sustainable operations. The consortium includes such major oil companies as Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil, as well as a Russian state-owned pipeline company and a Kazakh state-owned oil and gas company.

At the end of last month, following several attacks on tankers, CPC even considered suspending operations to avoid environmental and security risks, but decided to continue working.

The Athens-based company listed on Equasis as the manager of the vessel Skiros said that no one was injured and no environmental pollution occurred as a result of the incident, and that the vessel's owners were aware of the event. The company declined to comment further.