Reuters: Two ships caught fire after the SBU drone attack on Russian oil port Primorsk

Two ships caught fire due to a drone attack by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on the largest Russian oil loading port on the Baltic Sea, Primorsk.

Reuters reports this, citing industry sources.

According to them, two oil tankers, Kusto and Cai Yun, were damaged in the attack. Kusto is an Aframax -class tanker with a capacity of approximately 700 000 barrels, owned by Solstice Corp. Cai Yun is also an Aframax-class tanker and owned by Acceronix Lt. Both vessels are registered in the Seychelles.

Industry sources and Ukrainian military officials also said that the attack halted oil loading at a key western oil terminal.

What preceded

Babelʼs sources reported that on the night of September 12, drones of the Security Service of Ukraine attacked Primorsk, the largest Russian oil loading port on the Baltic Sea, which is the final destination of the Baltic Pipeline System.

According to sources, fires broke out on one of the ships in the port and at the pumping station, and oil shipments were suspended. Estimated daily losses to the Russian budget from the suspension of exports could reach $41 million.

Primorsk is a key hub for loading the shadow fleet, which Russia uses to circumvent international sanctions and sell oil on foreign markets. Nearly 60 million tons of oil passes through the port each year, bringing Russia about $15 billion.

• Ukraine has been actively attacking Russian energy facilities in recent months. Reuters reported on August 25 that Ukrainian attacks on 10 Russian oil refineries had knocked out at least 17% of Russian oil refining capacity, equivalent to 1.1 million barrels per day.
• Commander of the UAV Forces Robert "Madyar" Brovdi wrote on August 28 that Russiaʼs oil refining capacity had decreased by 21% in two weeks.

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