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.
