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A tanker carrying oil from Tengizchevroil LLP (TCO) came under a drone attack while loading at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal during the night of July 30, the consortium said.
According to the CPC, the Nissos Sifnos, sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, was loading crude oil at Single Point Mooring No. 3 (SPM-3) when it was targeted by unmanned aerial vehicles.
The incident occurred at 1:48 a.m. Moscow time. The tanker was transporting crude oil shipped by Tengizchevroil LLP (Chevron).
As a result of the drone attack, a fire broke out in the area of the oil-loading manifolds on the cargo deck. The fire was extinguished by the tanker’s crew with the assistance of three CPC support vessels,” the consortium said in a statement.
The CPC said there were no fatalities or injuries among its employees or contractors, and no oil spill occurred. Medical assistance or evacuation of the crew was not required. The vessel remained afloat, and specialists are currently assessing the extent of the damage.
Oil loading operations have been temporarily suspended, although the consortium said the pipeline’s facilities continue to operate as normal.
The consortium also reported that the tanker Marathi, sailing under the flag of the Isle of Man and en route to the terminal to load oil, was attacked approximately six nautical miles from the CPC marine terminal in territorial waters.
According to the CPC, such attacks pose risks to global energy security, undermine the stability of international energy supplies, and damage the economic interests of Kazakhstan, the consortium’s Western shareholders, and oil-shipping companies, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Eni, TotalEnergies, and Shell.
The consortium also stressed that attacks on tankers endanger the lives of international crews and increase the risk of a major environmental disaster in the Black Sea. According to the CPC, a direct strike on the loading equipment could have resulted in the entire vessel catching fire and caused a large-scale oil spill.
