A Russian warship guarding pipelines in the Black Sea has been attacked by three Ukrainian speedboats, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.
This, after Russia is still reeling from the attack last September that damaged Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which remain out of service to this day.
Wednesday’s attack on the Russian warship Ivan Hurs took place as it was approaching the Bosphorus strait, Russia said. At the time, the Ivan Hurs was in that location guarding the TurkStream and Blue Stream natural gas pipelines that carry gas from Russia to Turkey, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Now, Russia believes that expanding defensive measures is justified. The alleged attack on Russia’s warship comes just a week after Russia agreed to extend a deal with Ukraine that would allow Ukraine to export grain from its ports.
Ukraine accused Russia on Tuesday of cutting Ukraine’s Pivdennyi port out of a deal for Black Sea grain exports.
Russia said that the enemy boats were “destroyed by fire from the standard armament of a Russian ship.”
The TurkStream pipeline is a twin line with a capacity of 31.5 bcm. The first line is capable of carrying 15.75 bcm to Turkey’s domestic market. The second line can carry another 15.75 bcm, but carries it further into Bulgaria.
The Blue Stream gas pipeline, commissioned two decades ago, carries 16 bcm per day and is one of the deepest underwater pipelines in the world. The pipeline is owned by Blue Stream Pipeline Company—a JV between Russia’s Gazprom and Italy’s Eni, each with a 50% stake in the company. Eni did announce in 2022 its intention to divest from the Blue Stream following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
