24 July 2026
Russia’s largest Black Sea oil terminal, Sheskharis, in Novorossiysk, suspended oil loading onto tankers on the morning of July 21 due to increased attacks by Ukrainian drones, Bloomberg reported , citing shipping data, satellite imagery, and vessel tracking services.
As the agency notes, the suspension is unlikely to be related to poor weather conditions, as a storm warning for the terminal was issued only two days after the last loading was completed. Since the beginning of the year, an average of approximately 650,000 barrels of oil have been loaded through Sheskharis daily. The port shutdown has paralyzed a fifth of Russia’s oil exports, which average 3.6 million barrels per day this year.
The suspension of the terminal’s operations occurred shortly after Ukrainian attacks on vessels in the Black and Azov Seas intensified. Earlier this week, increased drone attacks had already prevented tankers from loading oil at the nearby Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal. As a result, the CPC terminal, which exports 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil, suspended operations, and Kazakhstan itself began a forced reduction in production.
The day before, Russian authorities warned all vessels operating in Russia’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea that the area was unsafe due to the potential threat posed by Ukrainian aerial and maritime drones. As a result, grain exports were also threatened: Novorossiysk handles approximately a third of all Russian grain exported.
Too bad the cockroaches have done the same with Odesa.