Ukraine Attacks Ship Used to Repair Key Black Sea Oil Moorings

(Bloomberg) — Ukraine attacked a small service ship involved in planned  repair works at the key CPC oil terminal in the Black Sea, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The facility is vital to Kazakstan’s crude exports.

The Nefrit has almost completed works at one mooring and was set to start replacing some equipment at another, the person said on condition of anonymity as the information is not public. The attack puts the scheduled works in limbo and raises uncertainty over CPC’s future crude-loading operations, the person said.

The CPC press office declined to comment “on the ongoing work of any CPC contractors,” when asked whether the Nefrit was working for the sea terminal

Operations at CPC have been closely watched following repeated disruptions in July as Ukraine and Russia intensified strikes against each other in the Black Sea. 

A spate of attacks on tankers calling at the terminal, which accounted for almost 2% of global oil supplies at one stage this year, led to a significant drop in crude exports, and are expected to cut Kazakhstan’s crude production this year.

CPC has three offshore moorings and normally loads crude from two of them, with a third serving as backup. Mooring 2 was damaged in a November 2025 attack and was replaced earlier this year, with tests underway, Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said in late August. The ministry expected all three CPC moorings to be operational already this month.

Ukraine’s Military Navy Forces earlier on Thursday said its sea drone attacked the Nefrit vessel near Russia’s Black Sea port of Sochi. “A powerful explosion and smoke were recorded in the area of the ship,” Ukraine’s Navy said in a statement on Telegram. 

The Nefrit has “provided oil and gas operations, serviced offshore facilities, transported cargo and personnel, and performed underwater technical work,” thus supporting Russia’s economy and financing the war against Ukraine, the statement said.  

© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

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