Greek-run tanker carrying Russian oil hit off Russia’s Black Sea coast, Bloomberg reports
The ship’s manager reported no injuries or pollution. It was the first attack on a vessel calling at the CPC terminal in nearly three weeks.
A Greek-operated tanker, the Skiros, was targeted near Russia's Black Sea coast while loading Russian crude at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal on August 16, 2026, according to Bloomberg. The Suezmax-class vessel has a capacity of around 1 million barrels. No attacker was identified, and there were no reported injuries or pollution.
The tanker's Athens-based manager confirmed the incident to Bloomberg, stating that no one was hurt and no environmental damage occurred. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, primarily exporting Kazakh oil, carries more than two-thirds of Kazakhstan's oil exports, with Russian crude accounting for only 5% to 10% of its shipments. Following earlier attacks on CPC infrastructure, Ukraine agreed not to target CPC facilities or non-Russian ships not under Ukrainian sanctions and not carrying Russian cargo.
However, the Skiros, which carried Russian crude, was not covered by this protection. Earlier attacks in August disrupted operations, prompting CPC to consider suspending loading at the terminal due to environmental and safety concerns. Despite this, the company decided to continue operations. Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry reported a temporary reduction in oil production to prevent storage facility overflows, while Reuters noted a fifth decrease in CPC loadings in July.
The disruption also led to increased shipping and war-risk insurance costs as some operators became hesitant to approach the terminal. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the Skiros attack, and Bloomberg did not identify any attacker.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
