ATHENS, August 17. /TASS/. A Ukrainian drone struck the Greek tanker Skiros in the Black Sea after it had loaded oil at the port of Novorossiysk on August 16, the Greek Skai television channel reported.

The TV channel released a video of the attack featuring a drone carrying out a reconnaissance flight over the sea, and then striking the deck bridge of a Greek tanker. A fire breaks out immediately after the strike, though it is unclear whether any crew members have been injured, the television channel noted.

It is believed that the attack was carried out by a drone operated by the Ukrainian authorities, who have recently carried out similar attacks on tankers loaded with oil from this Russian port, it said.

Meanwhile, according Bloomberg reports, a Greek oil tanker was attacked in the Black Sea after loading cargoes of the Russian origin. The Suezmax-class tanker Skiros, capable of holding around one million barrels of oil, was attacked after loading at a Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near Novorossiysk, sources familiar with the situation told the agency. The attack took place on Sunday near the terminal, they added.

This was the first attack on a vessel near the CPC terminal - the most important route for the export of Kazakh oil - after a nearly three-week lull. Last month, repeated drone strikes disrupted loading of CPC cargoes, which has recently accounted for almost 2% of global oil supplies, and forced oil companies operating in Kazakhstan to cut production, the agency noted.

According to the Skiros’ Greek operator, no one was hurt in the incident and no oil leaks were reported. The shipowners knew about the incident, it said and refused from further comments.