Ukrainian Defense Forces Strike Oil Terminal and Tanker in Russian Tuapse

The Ukrainian Defense Forces targeted a maritime oil terminal responsible for transshipping products from the Tuapse Oil Refinery, as well as an oil tanker moored at the facility.

Astra reported on this.

During the night of November 2, residents of Russia’s Krasnodar region reported hearing multiple explosions. Later, the regional operational headquarters confirmed the attack, stating that “port infrastructure was damaged, causing a subsequent fire.”

At least three fire sources were recorded at the Tuapse seaport following a drone attack. Two of them were located at the deep-water berthing facility, and another at the oil terminal near the Southern Mole area.

According to the report, the attack caused a fire at the deep-water berthing facility of RN-Tuapse Marine Terminal LLC(berths No. 1A and No. 1B) – the “oil pier” of the Tuapse Oil Refinery. It is used for loading dark and light petroleum products onto tankers.

This is a port facility specifically built for loading petroleum products onto tankers. It is directly connected to the Tuapse Oil Refinery and serves its export operations.

The CyberBoroshno open-source intelligence group has also confirmed this information. According to their data, the deep-water berth and, likely, the oil-loading pier were hit.

The berth was commissioned in 2013 and can handle up to 7 million tons of products per year. It can accommodate vessels up to 250 meters long with a draft of up to 15 meters.

Analysts note that the strike hit the central loading trestle, which serves as the main hub for transferring crude oil and heavy petroleum products between the terminal’s onshore storage tanks and tankers.

According to official reports from local authorities, who confirmed damage to the port’s infrastructure, one of the moored tankers was affected:

“In the port of Tuapse, fragments of drones fell onto an oil tanker. The deck superstructure was damaged. The tanker’s crew was evacuated. A fire broke out on the vessel. Buildings and terminal infrastructure were also damaged. In addition, the glass facade of the railway station building was shattered. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties,” the Krasnodar regional operational headquarters reported.

According to Andrii Klymenko, head of the Institute for Strategic Black Sea Studies, during the Ukrainian attack on the Tuapse seaport on the night of November 1–2, 2025, three tankers were near the oil terminal: two Greek (POLLUX and COAST BUSTER) and one Turkish (CHAI). The fire likely broke out on the Turkish tanker CHAI.

At the end of September, Ukrainian maritime drones executed their first attack on Russian oil export infrastructure in Tuapse. At that time, a sea kamikaze drone struck one of the oil-loading piers.