Ukraine Strikes at Russia’s Largest Oil Loading Port

Drones have struck a tanker and the infrastructure of the port of Primorsk, which ships oil and diesel fuel in the Baltics.

This was reported by the governor of the Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko.

According to the Russian official, on the night of September 12, the 6th Air Defense Army shot down more than 30 drones from the group that attacked the port infrastructure of Primorsk. As a result of the attack, one of the tankers was hit and caught fire, as well as a pumping station of the oil loading line.

“An open fire on one of the vessels was extinguished in the port. There is no threat of flooding and oil spills,” he wrote on his telegram channel.

Pictures taken by local residents confirm the fact of a large-scale fire and oil spill, contrary to the Russian governor’s statements.

The port of Primorsk is located in the Vyborg District of the Leningrad Region, five kilometers from the city of the same name. It is the end point of the Baltic Pipeline System.

Crude oil and diesel fuel are exported through Primorsk. It has 18 oil storage tanks with a capacity of 50,000 tons each, as well as oil product storage facilities and emergency discharge tanks.

Primorsk is one of the two key ports for oil exports across the Baltic:

• The port of Ust-Luga is the largest oil hub in the Baltic region, from which crude oil and oil products are exported.
• The port of Primorsk is an important export point for Russian oil exports from the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS).

Shipping through the Baltic Sea is a vital artery for the Russian merchant fleet, whose routes play a key role in oil exports. The Baltic’s share of exports is estimated at 35-45% of all maritime exports of crude oil and up to 50% of maritime exports of oil products.

In recent months, shipping in the region has been threatened after a series of explosions on ships calling at Russian ports, believed to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet,” occurred.

The latest incident took place in early July in the Russian port of Ust-Luga, when an explosion occurred on board the ammonia tanker Eco Wizard under strange circumstances, causing the ship to sink.

In response, Russia has allocated more than 3 billion rubles to inspect and search for explosive devices on ships calling at Russian commercial ports in the Baltic.