Drone attacks leave Russia's Baltic oil ports unable to process cargo
Photo: Russia's Baltic oil ports still cannot process cargo after drone attacks (Russian media)
Russia's oil ports in Ust-Luga and Koivisto on the Baltic Sea are still unable to fully handle oil shipments following strikes by Ukrainian drones, according to Reuters.
According to the agency, Russian refineries are forced to seek alternative export routes, including more expensive rail shipments to other terminals.
The situation is especially difficult for diesel fuel: since March 22, it has not been possible to ship via Koivisto, which was one of the main export channels for Russian refineries in the European part of Russia and Siberia.
Due to infrastructure damage, some fuel oil and other petroleum products are being redirected to other ports, including Vysotsk and Taman. However, these options have limitations, such as lower capacity or more complex logistics.
Traders say this is already putting additional pressure on Russia's oil system and could lead to reduced production.
The Finnish Maritime Administration told Reuters that shipments from Koivisto and Ust-Luga have dropped to the level of "one vessel," whereas normally there are 40–50 departures per week.
Strikes on Russian ports
Earlier, large-scale Ukrainian drone attacks on the ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk effectively brought Russia’s Baltic oil exports to a state of "paralysis."
In just the last week of March, Russia's seaborne raw material exports collapsed, resulting in more than $1 billion in lost revenue for the Kremlin.
Additionally, systematic attacks on infrastructure have caused Russian storage facilities to become overloaded, as oil shipments are blocked. Analysts estimate that this situation makes a reduction in domestic oil production inevitable, since there is nowhere to store it.
It is also reported that the Ukrainian drone strikes caused Russia's Primorsk port on the Baltic Sea to lose at least 40% of its oil storage capacity.
