Reuters reports new consequences of Ukraine's attack on Russia's Novorossiysk port
Illustrative photo: Novorossiysk is shipping oil but remains behind schedule (Getty Images)
Loading operations at Russia’s Novorossiysk oil port are running two to three days behind schedule due to damage caused by Ukrainian drones, which has reduced the capacity of a key terminal berth, Reuters reports.
The Ukrainian strike on the Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk damaged berths 1 and 1A, which handle large Suezmax tankers with a deadweight of 140,000 tons.
"The loading of Suezmax class tankers has been transferred to berth 1A. Berth 1 is still idle," one of the sources said.
This will make it difficult for the port to immediately recover the lost loading days and return to the schedule.
Reuters industry sources said the port could catch up by the end of November, provided storms do not disrupt loading operations.
On Monday, November 17, the Kremlin said Russia has the capacity to quickly deal with the consequences of the attack and restore export activity.
At the same time, one trader noted that exports of Kazakh oil transiting through Novorossiysk may also be delayed by one to two days.
Strike on Sheskharis
In the early hours of November 14, Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the Russian Navy’s Novorossiysk base in Russia’s Krasnodar region. The attack damaged the port infrastructure in the city and the Sheskharis oil terminal.
It later emerged that the Novorossiysk port had urgently halted oil exports after the overnight drone attack. An emergency state was declared in the city.
After the strike on Novorossiysk, global oil prices rose by 3%, and the Ukrainian attack temporarily halted 2% of the world's oil supply.
On Sunday, November 16, the Novorossiysk port resumed operations after Ukrainian drones and missiles hit the Sheskharis terminal.
