Two tankers were hit by drones on 13 January while sailing toward the Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka terminal on Russia’s coast.
One of the ships was chartered by U.S. energy giant Chevron. The oil company stated that its vessel remained stable, all crew were safe, and it was being directed to a secure port in coordination with authorities. Ukraine has been stepping up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure as part of its effort to pressure Moscow to end the war, but it was not immediately clear who carried out these tanker strikes.
Neither Ukraine’s government nor the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which runs the terminal, commented.
Meanwhile, the attacks immediately drove up risk premiums: war insurance costs for ships traveling to the Black Sea nearly doubled after two Greek-managed tankers were hit by unidentified drones.
This incident follows a series of Russian strikes on Ukrainian cargo vessels in the Black Sea. Last week, two ships carrying soybeans and grain were hit, resulting in the death of a Syrian crew member.