Crude Loading Resumes at Key Russian Baltic Port Following Attacks

(SeaPRwire) –   Russia’s primary Baltic port, Ust-Luga, has restarted loading crude oil following several days of interruption due to a series of Ukrainian drone strikes in the area.

Shipping data reviewed by Bloomberg News indicates that the Aframax tanker, The Jewel, began taking on cargo on Saturday.

Operations at Ust-Luga, a major western Russian oil export hub, were halted in late March as Ukraine intensified its assaults on energy facilities on the Baltic coast.

Russian pipeline company Transneft did not provide an immediate comment when contacted outside of standard working hours.

READ: Russia Baltic Crude Terminal Looks Undamaged in Satellite Images

Ukraine is persisting with its strikes on Russian oil infrastructure in the Baltic region, having damaged facilities at the port of Primorsk on Sunday. These actions are intended to reduce Russian export earnings while global energy prices are elevated due to conflict in the Middle East.

Nevertheless, a return to consistent crude shipments from Ust-Luga could offer a degree of reassurance to worldwide markets unsettled by Iran’s tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz.