Despite a drone attack on the tanker Nordic Zenith near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal, Kazakhstan's oil exports continue as normal. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The incident occurred on July 17. A drone attacked the tanker Nordic Zenith, which was heading to the terminal for oil loading. According to the ministry, the tanker was empty at the time of the attack.
The crew extinguished the resulting fire on their own. No casualties were reported.
"There is no threat to Kazakhstan's oil. The technological infrastructure is operating normally. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is carrying out cargo operations and loading oil onto tankers according to schedule," the ministry stated.
According to Interfax, CPC vessels evacuated 13 people from the damaged tanker, while nine crew members remained on board. The morning's planned oil loading was disrupted — after the attack, the vessel was deemed unfit for cargo operations.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium remains the main route for Kazakhstan's oil supplies to Europe via the terminal in Novorossiysk. About 80% of all Kazakhstan's oil exported via pipelines is transported through the CPC system.
The tanker Nordic Zenith is a Suezmax-class vessel, sailing under the flag of Liberia, and departed from the port of Istanbul on July 10.
This is not the first such incident. On July 8, drones attacked an oil tanker belonging to the American company Chevron, which was used to transport Kazakhstan's oil from the CPC terminal.
CPC shareholders include Russia's Transneft (24%), KazMunayGas (19%), US Chevron (15%), Russia's Lukoil (12.5%), US ExxonMobil (7.5%), Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited (7.5%), Russia's CPC Company (7%), and Italy's Eni (2%).