Two tankers with Greek interests were struck by Ukrainian drones near Russia's Novorossiysk oil terminal on July 30, acc...

Two tankers with Greek interests were struck by Ukrainian drones near Russia's Novorossiysk oil terminal on July 30, according to a statement from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. The CPC, which operates the Caspian oil pipeline and the sea terminal near Novorossiysk, described the strikes as a "terrorist attack." The tanker Nissos Sifnos, sailing under a Marshall Islands flag and loading oil for Tengizchevroil LLP, was hit at 1:48 a.m. Moscow time while docked at the SPM-3 floating loading facility. The drone strike started a fire in the manifold area on the cargo deck, which the crew extinguished with help from three CPC support vessels. No crew injuries were reported, no oil spill occurred, and the Nissos Sifnos remained afloat. A damage assessment is ongoing, though oil loading has been suspended. The pipeline infrastructure itself continues to operate normally. A second vessel, the Marathi, sailing under an Isle of Man flag, was also struck approximately 6 nautical miles from the terminal while en route to load oil. The CPC said appeals from Kazakhstan and other foreign shareholders, including interventions through the U.S. State Department, were ignored before the attacks took place. The consortium warned that strikes of this kind endanger the multinational crews aboard these tankers and risk catastrophic environmental damage in the Black Sea. A direct hit on a loading facility could, according to the CPC, ignite an entire vessel and trigger a major oil spill. Ukraine's drone forces commander Robert Brovdi separately announced on Telegram that Ukrainian forces had struck four Russian tankers in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov overnight. He also claimed that over the past three weeks, Ukrainian forces have hit a total of 205 tankers, 130 in the Sea of Azov and 75 in the Black Sea. The CPC's shareholders include Chevron, ExxonMobil, Eni, TotalEnergies, and Shell. #BlackSea #Ukraine #EnergyWar