(Bloomberg) — Freight costs for oil tankers transporting crude oil from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean have hit a record high following a series of drone attacks. This has led to a decline in prices for Kazakhstan’s main CPC export grade.
Daily earnings for tankers on this route have surged to $440,948, marking the highest figure in Baltic Exchange data going back to July 2008. This rate, reflecting 135,000-ton shipments from Novorossiysk on Russia’s Black Sea coast to Augusta in Sicily, has increased 140% since the recent attacks began in early July.
Due to rising freight and insurance costs, the premiums for CPC crude have decreased, according to two traders who preferred to remain anonymous as they are not authorized to speak publicly. Potential buyers are also hesitant, anticipating a significant drop in freight costs once conditions at the export terminal stabilize, the sources noted.
Shipments of CPC Blend are expected to decrease by one-third this month compared to initial plans, following repeated disruptions at the Novorossiysk terminal, where loadings have been suspended several times in recent weeks due to drone attacks on vessels. Ukraine has agreed not to target certain non-Russian oil tankers and critical Black Sea infrastructure for exporting Kazakhstan’s crude after discussions involving the US.
On Tuesday, CPC Blend crude traded at its lowest level in over a year in the closely monitored Platts pricing window managed by S&P Global Commodity Insights. TotalEnergies SE acquired 90,000 tons of CPC Blend from Gunvor for delivery between late August and early September at $4.60 a barrel below the Dated Brent benchmark, the weakest price since January 2025.
The average price gap for CPC Blend compared to North Sea Dated crude dropped significantly last month, as insurers nearly doubled the war risk premiums in the region, according to a monthly report from the International Energy Agency released on Wednesday.