BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 20. The Caspian Pipeline
Consortium (CPC) has suspended crude oil loading operations at its
marine terminal near Novorossiysk after a drone strike damaged a
tanker during loading operations.
According to CPC, the incident occurred on July 20, 2026, when
the tanker NELSA was receiving crude oil at the single point
mooring facility SPM-1 (VPU-1). The drone struck the vessel’s
starboard side, causing a fire in the aft section of the
tanker.
Emergency response teams from CPC and the vessel’s crew carried
out firefighting operations and extinguished the fire. Twenty-two
members of the tanker’s international crew were evacuated, while
the captain and chief officer remained on board to monitor the
vessel’s condition.
CPC said the tanker remains afloat and that emergency teams
prevented an oil spill into the Black Sea and avoided damage to the
vessel’s cargo tanks.
The incident occurred shortly after the CPC terminal resumed
operations following another drone attack on July 19, which
affected the civilian tankers ASIA and NISSOS IOS while they were
loading crude oil.
The previous incident involved vessels transporting oil produced
by companies including Tengizchevroil and KazMunayGas. Following
the attack, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry
of Energy issued statements regarding the incident. CPC said it
expects the consortium’s member states to assess the situation and
called for additional measures to strengthen the security of energy
infrastructure under international law.
"We expect that the CPC member countries will condemn these
attacks and, in strict compliance with international law, develop
practical measures to stop terrorist attacks on the infrastructure
for the export of hydrocarbon raw materials produced by
international consortiums in the Republic of Kazakhstan," the CPC
noted.
