Drones have hit two crude tankers near the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, the Kazakh energy ministry said Jan. 13, a day after Russian attacks on Ukrainian commercial shipping.
The Malta-flagged Matilda and the Liberia-flagged Delta Harmony were attacked near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s terminal, and both ships were engaged in carrying Kazakh oil for export, the ministry said in a statement.
Greek company Thenamaris, which operates the Matilda, separately confirmed its ship was attacked by two projectiles at around 10 am local time (0700 GMT) outside of the terminal.
The Aframax tanker sustained minor damage and requires repair, but no pollution has been reported.
“The authorities were immediately informed,” a spokesperson for Thenamaris told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy. “All crew on board are safe, and there are no reported injuries.”
Kazakh national energy company KazMunayGaz also confirmed the attack. The Matilda was chartered by KMG subsidiary Kazmortransflot and was scheduled to load Kazakh oil at the CPC terminal on Jan. 18, KMG said on its Telegram channel.
Greece-based Delta Tankers, the operator of Delta Harmony, said the tanker was hit by a projectile off Novorossiisk at 0512 GMT and caught a “short-lived” fire.
There were no casualties nor pollution, and the Suezmax left the area under its own power, with the extent of damage still being assessed, according to the company.
The Delta Harmony was due to load barrels from Kazakhstan at the CPC offshore mooring, the Kazakh ministry said.
Oil loading at the CPC terminal at Novorossiisk is being carried out via the single mooring point SPM-1, a spokesperson for the ministry told Platts. The other two mooring points have compromised capacity due to previous attacks and maintenance work.
Loadings are proceeding as normal, subject to adjustments for weather conditions. The ministry’s main priority is ensuring the stability of exports and preventing critical overstocking at storage units, the ministry spokesperson said.
Platts has contacted the CPC and Ukraine’s Security Service for comments.
A wide range
This comes after Ukraine said Jan. 11 that it had hit more Russian oil infrastructure in the Caspian Sea, as it continues to target an important oil production and supply region for Russia and neighboring Kazakhstan.
Ukraine attacked Lukoil’s Filanovsky, Korchagin and Grayfer platforms, Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement posted on Telegram Jan. 11.
Loadings of crude at Novorossiisk have declined in recent months. In November and December 1.9 million b/d of crude was loaded at the port, while for most of 2025 the range was 2.1 million-2.5 million b/d, CAS data showed.
Platts assessed the rate to carry an 80,000 metric ton cargo of crude from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean at 215 Worldscale points on Jan. 12, up from w177 at the end of 2025.
Russian attacks
Russia made several attempts to attack the ports of the Odesa region, the Ukrainian navy said on Telegram Jan. 12.
The Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed six out of eight drones, but two of them hit civilian vessels. In particular, the tanker Ata Voyager under the Panamanian flag, which was waiting to enter the port to load vegetable oil, and the vessel Blue Bead under the San Marino flag, which was transporting grain, were hit, the navy said.
Source: Platts
