Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft said on Wednesday it had suspended a mooring at the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk for 90 days following a snap inspection by a transportation watchdog.
The Novorossiisk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP) is one of Russia's largest exporting outlets and the closure of one mooring is unlikely to significantly affect the port's operations.
"A temporary ban on operations has been imposed on oil loading berth 8. NCSP has been ordered to eliminate all identified violations by June 30, 2025," Transneft said.
The snap checks, which are also being carried out at Taman, Tuapse and other Black Sea ports, are related to a massive oil products spill in December in the Kerch Strait.
The action has already resulted in the closure of two of three moorings at a nearby terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, in which US oil majors Chevron and Exxon Mobil hold stakes.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova, Editing by Mark Trevelyan)