EditCaspian Pipeline Consortium oil loadings suspended after drone attacks on tankers
The past week has seen a sharp escalation in attacks by both Russia and Ukraine on shipping in the Black and Azov seas
Two oil tankers were attacked at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal off Russia’s Black Sea coast, CPC said on Sunday, adding that oil loadings are suspended.
The ASIA and NISSOS IOS tankers were attacked during loading operations, CPC said. The ASIA tanker caught fire, which was extinguished, it added.
“There were no injuries or fatalities amongst CPC staff or contractors. There was no oil spill,” CPC said, adding that the tankers remained afloat.
CPC did not identify any party as responsible for the incident. The past week has seen a sharp escalation in attacks by both Russia and Ukraine on shipping in the Black and Azov seas.
The CPC is a 1,510 km oil pipeline connecting Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea oil deposits with Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Oil loaded at Novorossiysk is then taken by tanker to world markets. CPC accounts for about 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports.
Last January drones presumed to be Ukrainian struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea near the CPC terminal carrying Kazakh oil, (Matilda, chartered by KazMunayGas subsidiary for Karachaganak oil, and Delta Harmony linked to Chevron/Tengiz crude).
Wrong target: drones hit tankers carrying Kazakh oil, not Russian shadow fleet
Ukraine did not officially claim responsibility for the January strikes on the two tankers. Kyiv remained silent, consistent with many shadow fleet or Black Sea operations.
Ukraine has generally justified its energy infrastructure campaign as legitimate targeting of Russian assets that fund the war, without apologizing for collateral effects on third parties like Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan protested the incidents as harmful to its non-belligerent exports, while Ukraine noted Kazakhstan’s lack of condemnation for Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilian energy infrastructure. No formal “excuse” was offered for mistakenly (or allegedly) hitting Kazakh-loaded vessels.
Ukraine’s energy war against Russia just hit a massive, politically sensitive bottleneck in the Black Sea.
Drone strikes are hitting tankers bound for the CPC terminal owned by US oil majors.
A thread on the messy geoeconomics of the Black Sea crossfire. 🧵🇺🇦🇺🇸🇷🇺👇 pic.twitter.com/ZWlPBCGzTI— Francesco Sassi (@Frank_Stones) July 18, 2026
With Reuters, with additional reporting by g.g.
Caption: Route of the CPC pipeline from Kazakhstan’s Tengiz oil fields to the Russian terminal in Novorossiysk [Wikipedia]
Updated: July 19, 2026 - 12:06
