The incident comes just weeks after Washington pressed Kiev to halt strikes on US-linked terminals and shipping
A Greek-run tanker has been attacked in the Black Sea off the Russian coast after calling at a US-linked oil terminal, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The strike comes weeks after US Vice President J.D. Vance pressed Vladimir Zelensky to curb Ukrainian strikes on vessels using the hub.
The Suezmax-class Skiros, capable of carrying around 1 million barrels, was attacked on Sunday after loading at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the incident.
The vessel was carrying Russian-origin oil, according to the outlet. The ship’s Athens-based manager said that there were no injuries or pollution resulting from the attack, but declined to comment further.
A spokesman for Ukraine’s General Staff told Bloomberg he had “no data to comment on the issue.”
The incident follows months of Ukrainian attacks on CPC infrastructure and tankers operating near Novorossiysk. The consortium transports mostly Kazakh crude across Russia to the Black Sea and includes US oil giants Chevron and ExxonMobil among its shareholders.
Repeated strikes last month disrupted CPC loadings and forced Kazakh producers to cut output.
The attacks reportedly prompted direct intervention from Washington, with J.D. Vance allegedly delivering a dressing down to Zelensky during a July 31 phone call. According to the Financial Times, the Vice President ordered Kiev to stop targeting CPC-linked tankers, warning that the strikes were damaging American commercial interests and unsettling oil markets.
Zelensky quickly caved to the demands and subsequently called off strikes on tankers near the CPC terminal, as long as they are not under Ukrainian sanctions or carrying Russian cargo.
Sunday’s incident marks the first attack on a vessel calling at the CPC terminal after a lull of almost three weeks.
Russia has condemned previous attacks on Black Sea tankers as terrorist acts against civilian shipping. Kazakhstan has also protested strikes affecting CPC exports, describing them as an unacceptable threat to its economic interests and global energy supplies.
