MOSCOW, July 30. /TASS/. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) has reported another drone attack on two tankers near its terminal outside Novorossiysk, which resulted in a renewed suspension of oil shipments, the press service of the company reported.
"On July 30, 2026, at 1:48 a.m. Moscow time (10:48 p.m. GMT on the previous day - TASS), the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker NISSOS SIFNOS carrying a cargo from Tengizchevroil (a Chevron company) and undergoing oil loading at the CPC’s single point mooring SPM-3 was subjected to a terrorist attack. As a result of the drone attack, a fire broke out in the area of the oil intake manifolds on the cargo deck, which was extinguished by the tanker’s crew with the assistance of three CPC support vessels," the report said.
There were no injuries or casualties among CPC personnel or contractor staff, and no oil spill occurred. The tanker remains afloat, and damage assessment is underway. Oil loading has currently been halted, while pipeline facilities are operating normally.
Moreover, the Isle of Man-flagged tanker MARATHI, which was en route to load oil, was also attacked in territorial waters six nautical miles from the CPC marine terminal.
"Thus, calls from the Republic of Kazakhstan and other foreign CPC shareholders, including those made via the US Department of State regarding the unacceptability of using force against international energy infrastructure facilities, were ignored," the company noted.
The CPC has previously reported multiple drone attacks on tankers near its terminal in the Black Sea.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is the largest route for transporting oil from the Caspian region to global markets. The 1,511 km long main pipeline connects oil fields in Western Kazakhstan with Russia’s Black Sea coast where oil is loaded onto tankers via the CPC’s marine terminal. Among CPC shareholders are Russia (via Transneft), Kazakhstan (via KazMunayGas), structures of Chevron, Lukoil, ExxonMobil, a joint venture of Rosneft and Shell.