Ukrainian Attack on Oil Tanker Ends Black Sea Lull

The Greek-run Suezmax-class oil tanker Skiros was attacked in the Black Sea on August 16 after loading Russian oil at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near Novorossiysk, Russia. The vessel, which can carry approximately 1 million barrels of oil, reported no injuries or pollution following the incident.

This attack ended a nearly three-week lull in strikes against vessels using the CPC terminal. The pause followed a July 31 phone call in which JD Vance, Vice President of the United States, asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop strikes on CPC infrastructure and tankers to protect American commercial interests, as the consortium includes shareholders Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had reportedly agreed to refrain from targeting non-Russian vessels and CPC infrastructure, provided the ships were not under Ukrainian sanctions and not carrying Russian cargo. However, the Ukrainian government maintains that strikes on Russian energy infrastructure remain necessary to deprive Moscow of war funding. While the General Staff of Ukraine declined to comment on the Skiros attack, the incident follows previous strikes that forced the Government of Kazakhstan to reduce oil production.