The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal in the Black Sea has been targeted by another drone attack. The strike caused a fire on a civilian tanker, leading to a complete suspension of oil loading operations.
According to information released by the CPC, the incident occurred on July 20, just one day after oil loading operations had been resumed following previous attacks.
It was reported that during the attack, the Cameroon-flagged tanker "NELSA," which was receiving oil belonging to Kazakh and U.S. companies, was in the process of loading at the terminal's VPU-1 mooring point. As a result of the drone strike, a fire broke out on the starboard side of the vessel, between the superstructure and the engine-boiler room.
The fire was extinguished within a few hours by the tanker's crew and the CPC's emergency rescue services using specialized floating equipment.
The tanker had an international crew of 24 people. 22 of them were safely evacuated by CPC tugboats. The captain and the chief officer remained on board to monitor the situation. According to the consortium, the tanker has maintained its seaworthiness, and no oil leaks or fires in the oil tanks were recorded as a result of the incident.
Immediately after the incident, oil loading at the terminal was completely suspended for safety reasons.
The CPC stated that the attack on the civilian vessel not only put the lives of the crew members in serious danger but also created environmental and technological risks.
The consortium noted that the incident occurred just one day after a statement issued on July 19 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan regarding previous attacks. In that statement, Astana condemned the attacks on civilian infrastructure, describing them as an unacceptable step against the country's economic interests.
The CPC has called on member states to provide a legal and political assessment of the incident and to take practical measures to ensure the security of oil export infrastructure for international consortia operating in Kazakhstan.
This is the third attack on the CPC marine terminal in the last four days. On July 17, the "Nordic Zenith" tanker, which was approaching the terminal empty, was targeted by a drone, and on July 19, two more tankers were targeted during oil loading. Following those incidents, export operations at the terminal were temporarily suspended.
It should be noted that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium is the main export route for Kazakh oil to world markets. More than 80 percent of the country's total oil exports are carried out through the CPC pipeline system. Therefore, any disruption in the terminal's operations can affect the supply of Kazakh oil to world markets and stability in the international energy market.