Tankers Keep Returning for Kazakh Oil Despite Attacks at CPC Terminal

Oil tanker traffic continues around Kazakhstan’s main export route despite a series of attacks. As of the morning of August 4, four oil tankers were in the Port of Novorossiysk, with another expected to arrive, Orda.kz reports.

According to VesselFinder, two of the tankers in port were sailing under the Maltese flag, while the other two were registered in Liberia and the Marshall Islands. Another Liberian-flagged tanker was expected to arrive. The service tracks the entire Port of Novorossiysk and does not indicate which vessels are being handled at the CPC terminal.

Bloomberg, however, reported that tankers were continuing to load Kazakh crude directly at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal. Some had already left the terminal’s waters, while others were waiting nearby.

Terminal operations were disrupted by a series of attacks on vessels. On July 19, drones struck the ASIA and NISSOS IOS tankers while they were loading oil at CPC’s offshore moorings.

The ASIA was loading Tengizchevroil crude, while the NISSOS IOS was taking on oil supplied by Kashagan B.V. and Maten. The first vessel sails under the Liberian flag and the second under the flag of the Marshall Islands. Both have international crews.

A fire broke out aboard the ASIA following the strike, but the crew extinguished it with assistance from CPC emergency teams.

CPC is critical to Kazakhstan because it serves as the country’s main oil export route. Orda.kz previously examined how a shutdown could affect the economy.

Original author: Alexander Zhdanov

Read also:

• Kazakhstan Denies Reports of Full CPC Shutdown
• Tankers Stay Away From CPC Terminal, Putting Kazakhstan’s Oil Output at Risk
• Tanker Loading Tengizchevroil Oil Attacked Near CPC Terminal