MOSCOW:The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) has reported another drone attack on two tankers near its terminal close to Novorossiysk, res...
MOSCOW:The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) has reported another drone attack on two tankers near its terminal close to Novorossiysk, resulting in a renewed suspension of oil shipments, the company's press service reported.
TASS has collected the main facts known so far.
CPC statement
On July 30, 2026, at 1:48 a.m. Moscow time (10:48 p.m. GMT on the previous day), a terrorist attack hit the motor tanker NISSOS SIFNOS under the Marshall Islands flag carrying a cargo from Tengizchevroil (a Chevron company), while under crude oil loading at CPC single point mooring SPM-3, the consortium reported.
The UAV attack near the crude oil-receiving manifolds caused a fire on the cargo deck. The tanker crew extinguished the fire with a help of three CPC support vessels.
There are no casualties or fatalities among CPC or contractor personnel.
No oil spill occurred.
The tanker remained afloat, with damage assessment underway.
Oil loading has currently been halted, with main pipeline facilities operating normally.
Additionally, in territorial waters 6 nautical miles from the CPC marine terminal, another motor tanker, MARATHI, under the Isle of Man flag was attacked on its way to receive crude oil.
Previous attacks
On July 17, the oil tanker Nordic Zenith was damaged by two UAV strikes and caught fire while approaching the CPC marine terminal near Novorossiysk. The crew extinguished the fire.
On July 19, during loading operations at the CPC marine terminal, two tankers, Asia and Nissos Ios, were attacked with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles.
Oil loading was halted.
No oil spill occurred, the company reported.
As a result of the attack, a fire broke out on the tanker Asia, which was extinguished with the assistance of CPC emergency response teams.
On July 20, a UAV attacked the tanker Nelsa at the CPC terminal near Novorossiysk, the consortium reported.
The incident resulted in a fire, which was promptly extinguished.
There were no injuries, and no oil spill occurred.
The company resumed oil shipments on the evening of July 19 following a previous attack on its terminal, but halted them again on July 20 after a drone attack on a tanker near the facility.
On July 27, the CPC announced that it had resumed oil shipments from its marine terminal near Novorossiysk.
About CPC
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is the largest route for transporting oil from the Caspian region to global markets.
The 1,511 km long main pipeline connects oil fields in Western Kazakhstan with Russia’s Black Sea coast where oil is loaded onto tankers via the CPC’s marine terminal.
Among CPC shareholders are Russia (via Transneft), Kazakhstan (via KazMunayGas), structures of Chevron, Lukoil, ExxonMobil, a joint venture of Rosneft and Shell.
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