Drones Struck Three Oil Tankers in the Black Sea Hub of Novorossiysk

In the Black Sea, drones attacked at least three oil tankers heading to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, located near the Russian port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea coast, to load Kazakh oil.

The Delta Harmony, Delta Supreme, and Matilda were hit while waiting to dock, according to Reuters.

Two drones struck the Matilda about 48 km from the CPC berths and then left the area.

A fire broke out on board the Matilda, but it was quickly extinguished. The crew was unharmed and the ship remained operational.

The attacks took place in the Black Sea near the Russian coast, not in Kazakh waters, as some sources initially reported.

The Delta Harmony tanker was to load oil from the Tengiz field, and the Matilda was to load oil from Karachaganak.

The CPC terminal handles about 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports to world markets via the Black Sea.

Due to restrictions on the terminal’s operations, production in Kazakhstan fell by 35% between January 1 and 12.

In November, a drone already hit one of the CPC berths, which weakened the operation of the entire hub.

Kazakhstan has stated that only one berth is currently operational, which is insufficient for normal exports.

Attacks on CPC tankers and berths pose a risk to the global oil market, increasing freight and insurance costs.

A drone recently attacked a tanker in the Black Sea that was heading to Russia.