Two CPC Mooring Units Temporarily Shut Down After Environmental Inspection Near Novorossiysk

VPU-1 and VPU-2 (release mooring devices) in the terminal near Novorossiysk have been temporarily taken out of operation. Violations in their operation were revealed during an inspection after the fuel oil spill in the Kerch Strait, Orda.kz reports.

Following the fuel oil spill from two Volgonefli tankers on December 15 last year, organizations operating in the sea ports of Novorossiysk, Temryuk, Sochi, and Tuapse were inspected on behalf of the Russian government.

The priority was ensuring that all requirements for preventing sea pollution with oil products are met.

An unscheduled inspection was also conducted at JSC Caspian Pipeline Consortium—R. Supervisory authorities identified violations in the operation of VPU-1 and VPU-2 and issued an order temporarily prohibiting activities at the facilities.

Per the requirements of the law, CPC has taken both devices out of operation until the identified deficiencies are remedied. All transshipment operations at the Consortium's Marine Terminal will be carried out via VPU-3, which was put into operation in 2014. CPC shareholders have been notified of the orders of the supervisory authorities, the CPC reported.

The CPC Marine Terminal is equipped with three single-point mooring units (SPUs), which allow tankers to be safely loaded at a considerable distance from the shore.

The principal shareholders of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium are Russia's Transneft (24%) and KazMunayGas (19%).

Original Author: Oksana Matvienko