Ukrainian drones attacked the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s marine terminal in Novorossiysk while oil was being loaded, the CPC said.
According to the company, the strike targeted two tankers flying the flags of Liberia and the Marshall Islands, both carrying international crews. A fire broke out on the Liberian tanker after the strike, but it has since been extinguished. Both vessels remained afloat, and an assessment of the damage is now underway.
The CPC said that oil loading was suspended after the attack. The consortium added that no oil spill occurred. It also said there were no casualties among CPC employees or contractors, and that tanker crew members did not seek medical assistance.
“We believe that the attack on the company’s facility and civilian vessels in the waters of the CPC marine terminal is also an attack on the interests of the CPC member states,” the company said.
The consortium also stressed that it views the incident as the fifth act of direct aggression against what it described as an exclusively civilian facility. CPC noted that it brings together major companies from Russia, the United States, Kazakhstan, and several countries in Western Europe.
In recent months, Ukraine has repeatedly struck facilities in Russia linked to the oil industry. Against the backdrop of attacks on refineries and oil depots, a fuel crisis has emerged in Russia. Ukrainian forces have also been actively striking vessels in the Black and Azov seas, saying they are tankers from Russia’s “shadow fleet.”