Three Tankers Attacked While Loading at Caspian Pipeline

tankers at offshore oil terminal moorings — CPC reports three tankers were stuck on the past 24 hours causing it to twice suspend loading (CPC)

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is confirming that operations were briefly suspended as three tankers were struck by drones. The company is noting that it is a commercial operation with interests from the United States and elsewhere, while the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Energy were strongly condemning the attacks.

The first attack came on Sunday, July 19, as two tankers were loading at the offshore terminal moorings in the Black Sea. One of the vessels, Asia (163,111 dwt), is managed by Dynacom for Chevron. The vessel, built in 2022 and registered in Liberia, reported a fire onboard after the drone strike. The crew working with emergency response forces from CPC was able to extinguish the fire.

The second tanker, also Greek-owned, Nissos Ios (157,447 dwt), is registered in the Marshall Islands. CPC reported that loading was suspended for a few hours on Sunday and that a damage assessment was being undertaken.

Shortly after the operations resumed, a sanctioned tanker was also struck. The Nelsa (156,760 dwt) was reported to have been hit on Monday, July 20, between the superstructure and the engine room. A more significant fire resulted, forcing the 22 crewmembers to be evacuated onto CPC tugboats.

The reports indicate that it took several hours to bring the fire on the tanker under control. The Nelsa is registered in Cameron and was sanctioned by the UK in 2024 and the EU in 2025 for its role in the Russian oil trade.

The Caspian Pipeline is considered a key asset moving about two percent of the world’s oil supply. It stretches nearly 1,000 miles, exporting oil from three Kazakhstan fields. CPC points out that it has participation from Chevron, ExxonMobil, Eni, and Shell, among others, with 75 percent of its volume exported by foreign shippers. In 2025, export volumes amounted to approximately 70.5 million tons of oil.

Officials said this was the fifth attack by “terrorists,” calling it “pure aggression” against a purely civilian facility. At the end of last week, reports indicated that another tanker, Nordic Zenith (158645 dwt), was struck while inbound to the terminal near Novorossiysk. The crew was able to extinguish the fire aboard the Norwegian-owned tanker, which is registered in Liberia. The vessel was traveling only with ballast at the time.

These attacks come as Ukraine is continuing a prolonged strategy targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure. Since early July, Ukrainian military commanders have reported that a total of 159 vessels have been struck, including 117 in the Sea of Azov and 42 in the Black Sea. The focus has been on cutting off supplies to occupied Crimea, but it also continues to target Russian oil exports in the Black Sea. The goal is to force Russia to the negotiating table to end the long-running war.