Two Greek-owned crude oil tankers were struck by Ukrainian drones on Sunday while loading at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) export terminal near Novorossiysk on the Black Sea coast.
The vessels, Asia (operated by Dynacom Tankers Management) and Nissos Ios (managed by Kyklades Maritime), were hit during loading operations, according to the CPC.
Incident Details
The Asia, a 163,000-deadweight-ton tanker built in 2022, caught fire after being struck. The blaze was quickly brought under control and extinguished. The Nissos Ios, a 157,000-dwt tanker built in 2021, was also damaged during the attack.
Fortunately, there were no casualties among crew or terminal personnel, and no oil spill was reported. Both vessels remained seaworthy after the incident.
The CPC, an international consortium that exports mainly Kazakh crude with smaller volumes from Russia, suspended all loading operations at the terminal pending a full damage assessment. The single-point moorings (SPM-1 and SPM-3) were not damaged, according to Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry.
Rising Risks in the Black Sea
This latest attack is part of an escalating campaign targeting vessels and energy infrastructure linked to Russian oil exports. The incidents have raised serious concerns about the safety of commercial shipping and crews operating in the Black Sea region.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the strikes on vessels approaching the terminal and stated that a comprehensive assessment is underway.
The CPC has not officially identified the perpetrators, though Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian-linked energy targets have become increasingly common amid the ongoing conflict.