Tankers Still Not Entering the Russian Port of Primorsk in the Leningrad Region

Tankers are still not entering the Russian oil port of Primorsk (historical Finnish name: Koivisto) in the Leningrad Region following a successful strike by Ukrainian drones.

Finnish publication Yle reported on this.

According to MarineTraffic, a service that tracks maritime traffic, no tankers were recorded at the docks as of Thursday. All vessels are anchored in the nearby waters. This indicates that the port has completely halted oil exports.

Ukraine hit an important Russian oil port on the night of Monday, March 23. The drone strikes caused massive fires that engulfed most of the berths and two tankers at the Transneft-Port Primorsk facility.

Preliminary reports indicate that berths No. 1, 2, 4, 8, and 9 were damaged. In particular, a fire was confirmed at the terminal on Berth No. 8, which handles petroleum products.

According to available information, the fire at Berths No. 2 and No. 4 engulfed oil tankers that were being loaded. The extent of damage to the vessels is currently unknown.

It is worth noting that the city of Primorsk has the historical Finnish name Koivisto; it became part of the USSR after the Winter War of 1939–1940 between the Soviet Union and Finland.

Port of Primorsk

“Transneft-Port Primorsk” is Russia’s largest oil export port on the Baltic Sea and a key hub for the export of crude oil and petroleum products. It serves as the terminus of the Baltic pipeline system, with a throughput capacity of approximately 1 million barrels per day.

The port’s maritime section comprises nine berths, most of which serve oil tankers exclusively. The water depth of up to 18.2 meters allows for the reception of vessels with a deadweight of up to 150,000 tons.

The facility is one of the three main oil ports in Russia’s European part. The other two are the Ust-Luga (Laukaanusuu) oil port, also located in the Leningrad region, and the Novorossiysk oil port on the Black Sea.

On the night of March 25, Ukraine struck the Russian oil port of Ust-Luga using drones. It also halted shipments of crude oil and petroleum products.

According to Reuters, at least 40 percent of Russia’s oil export capacity is currently out of service.