Drone attacks tanker near Russia's Novorossiysk, oil loading suspended

A drone has attacked a tanker while it was loading oil at the Caspian ​Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal near Novorossiysk, prompting the suspension of crude oil transshipment.

Source: press service for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium

Details: According to the consortium, the drone struck the aft section on the starboard side, between the superstructure and the engine and boiler room. A fire broke out on the deck and in the tanker's compartments and took several hours to extinguish.

Twenty-two members of the international crew were evacuated from the vessel. The tanker remained afloat. The CPC said there had been no oil spill and that the crude oil in the tanks had not caught fire.

This was the second attack on a civilian tanker near the CPC terminal in two days.

Oil loading resumed on the evening of 19 July after the previous strike, but has been suspended again following the new attack on 20 July.

Background: The CPC marine terminal is located near the village of Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka, not far from Novorossiysk, Russia.

Subscribe on Patreon to back our journalism long-term.