Caspian Pipeline Consortium says oil tanker attacked by drones near its Black Sea terminal

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) said Monday that a drone attack struck the oil tanker Nelsa while it was loading at its Black Sea terminal near Russia’s Novorossiysk, causing fires on the vessel’s deck and in several compartments.

In a statement on Telegram, the pipeline operator said oil loading was suspended but that there was no oil spill or ignition of oil in the tanks.

The operator said the drone hit the aft starboard side between the superstructure and the engine room, sparking fires on the deck and in the vessel’s compartments. The fires were extinguished within hours by the tanker’s crew and emergency response teams aboard CPC vessels.

The tanker remained afloat after the attack. Its international crew of 22 was evacuated aboard CPC tugboats, except for the captain and chief officer, who remained on board, it said.

The CPC said the attack created “significant environmental and technological risks” and endangered the lives of crew members from multiple countries.

The consortium called on its member states to condemn the attack and develop practical measures under international law to prevent further attacks on infrastructure used to export Kazakhstan’s hydrocarbon resources.

The attack came a day after Kazakh authorities condemned drone strikes carried out Sunday, according to the statement.

Earlier the CPC said a drone attack on its Black Sea terminal near Novorossiysk had forced it to temporarily suspend oil loading. It said two tankers were targeted on July 19, with no casualties or oil spills reported.

The Kazakh Foreign Ministry described the incidents as "deliberate actions aimed at destabilizing global energy markets, lawful international trade, and the security of global transport and logistics supply chains," calling for an immediate halt to the attacks and measures to safeguard the country’s hydrocarbon export infrastructure.