A Greek-operated oil tanker has reportedly been attacked in the Black Sea after collecting Russian crude from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near Novorossiysk, according to Bloomberg.
The Suezmax tanker Skiros, which can carry about one million barrels of oil, was struck on Sunday after departing the CPC facility on Russia’s Black Sea coast, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the incident.
The vessel was carrying oil of Russian origin at the time. Its Athens-based management company said nobody aboard was injured and there had been no pollution following the incident, but provided no further details about the damage or circumstances of the attack.
Asked about the reported strike, a spokesman for Ukraine’s General Staff told Bloomberg that he had “no data to comment on the issue.”
The incident follows a series of Ukrainian attacks targeting energy infrastructure and shipping around Novorossiysk. The CPC network primarily carries Kazakh crude through Russian territory for export from the Black Sea and counts major US energy companies Chevron and ExxonMobil among its shareholders.
Previous attacks reportedly disrupted CPC loading operations and contributed to production cuts by Kazakh oil producers.
The latest incident also comes weeks after Washington reportedly intervened over Ukrainian attacks affecting CPC-linked shipping.
According to an earlier Financial Times report, US Vice President J.D. Vance raised the issue directly with Vladimir Zelensky during a July 31 telephone call, pressing Kiev to stop targeting tankers associated with the consortium amid concerns over American commercial interests and disruption to international energy markets.
Zelensky subsequently agreed to halt attacks against vessels near the CPC terminal provided they were not subject to Ukrainian sanctions or transporting Russian cargo, according to reports.
The reported strike on the Skiros is the first involving a vessel that had called at the CPC terminal following a lull of nearly three weeks.
Moscow has previously characterised attacks against commercial tankers in the Black Sea as acts of terrorism targeting civilian shipping. Kazakhstan has also criticised strikes affecting CPC operations, warning that they threaten its economic interests and the stability of international energy supplies.
