Unidentified drones hit two Greek-owned oil tankers in the Black Sea earlier on Tuesday, at least one of which was scheduled to load Kazakh oil on Russia’s coast, officials said.
The two tankers, the Maltese-flagged “Matilda” and Liberian-flagged “Delta Harmony”, did not sustain any major damage, an official from Greece’s maritime ministry told AFP.
Neither Greek or Kazakh officials said who was behind the attack.
Ukraine, which has waged a years-long campaign of strikes against Russia’s energy sector in retaliation for its neighbour’s invasion, did not immediately comment.
The Matilda was headed to load Kazakh oil at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk when it was attacked, Kazakh state energy firm Kazmunaygas said.
“There were no injuries among the crew. According to preliminary assessments, the vessel remains seaworthy, and there are no signs of serious structural damage,” it added.
Ukraine has targeted the CPC terminal multiple times throughout the nearly four-year war, including a naval drone strike last November that damaged one of its three mooring points.
The Ukrainian military says the strikes help drain the energy revenues Moscow uses to fund the war and are a justified response to Russia’s missile and drone attacks.
But the attacks have drawn frustration from Kazakhstan, which depends on crude shipments for its budget and transports around 80% of its oil through the CPC terminal.
Russia launches nightly drone and missile strikes across Ukraine, regularly smashing into apartment blocks, offices and other civilian sites. The attacks have killed thousands of civilians over the last four years.
Ukraine’s energy sector has also been heavily targeted, with strikes cutting heating and power to millions.
(vib)