The drone again attacked the tanker at the CPC terminal near Novorossiysk.
The drone hit the stern of the tanker during the oil loading. A fire broke out on the deck and in the compartments of the vessel.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on July 19, drones attacked the tankers Asia and Nissos Ios during oil loading at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near Novorossiysk. A fire occurred on the tanker Asia. There were no casualties.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan condemned the drone attacks on vessels involved in oil transportation through the CPC infrastructure on July 19. The ministry called these attacks an infringement on the economic interests of the country and demanded an immediate cessation of the attacks, reported IA "Kazinform".
After the attack on the tankers Asia and Nissos Ios, oil loading was resumed on the evening of July 19, the press service of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) reported today.
However, on July 20, the tanker was again attacked at the CPC marine terminal. According to the company, the drone attacked the tanker Nelsa, which was loading at the offshore mooring device.
The drone hit the stern of the starboard side between the superstructure and the engine-room. A fire broke out on the deck and in the compartments of the tanker. The fire was extinguished by the tanker’s loading teams and CPC emergency services.
"The international crew was evacuated on CPC tugs consisting of 22 people, except for the captain and the chief mate. The tanker maintained buoyancy," the press service said in a statement.
Oil loading has been halted. There was no oil spill or ignition. CPC called on the consortium member countries to condemn the attacks and take measures to protect the infrastructure used for exporting oil from Kazakhstan.
Recall that CPC is an international oil transportation project involving Russia, Kazakhstan, and leading extraction companies, created for the construction and operation of a main pipeline over 1511 kilometers long.
Oil is mainly supplied to the system from fields in Western Kazakhstan, as well as raw materials from Russian producers. Oil is transported to the marine terminal in the village of Yuzhnaya Ozerievka, where it is loaded onto tankers for shipment to global markets, as stated on the company's website.
Earlier, analysts interviewed by "Caucasian Knot" noted that Kazakhstan could supply only about four million tons of oil per year to Europe through Azerbaijan and Georgia in the event of a CPC shutdown. This volume is significantly less than the volume supplied through Novorossiysk (67 million tons per year).