Another tanker attacked near CPC terminal before loading Kazakh oil

The tanker Nordic Zenith, preparing to load oil at the CPC terminal off the Black Sea coast, was attacked by drones. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

The Interfax news agency reported that the vessel Nordic Zenith caught fire after two nighttime drone attacks. The fire was extinguished by the crew. Ships of the CPC consortium evacuated 13 people from the tanker, while nine remained on board.

The vessel was scheduled to begin loading oil in the morning, but after the attack it became unfit for loading. The CPC is a key route for delivering Kazakh oil to Europe via the terminal in Novorossiysk. About 80% of Kazakh oil transported by pipelines passes through CPC infrastructure.

The Nordic Zenith tanker is of the Suezmax class (capable of transiting the Suez Canal fully loaded). It sails under the flag of Liberia. The vessel departed from the port of Istanbul on July 10.

Recall that on July 8, an oil tanker owned by the American company Chevron, used to transport Kazakh oil from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, was attacked by drones.

CPC shareholders include Russia's Transneft (24%), KazMunayGas (19%), American Chevron (15%), Russia's Lukoil (12.5%), American ExxonMobil (7.5%), Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited (7.5%), Russia's MK CPC Company (7%), and Italy's Eni (2%).