Two Tankers Hit By Drones In Black Sea, Disrupting Kazakh Oil Exports

Two oil tankers were hit by drones in the Black Sea on Tuesday while sailing towards a major Russian oil terminal, adding to disruptions already affecting Kazakhstan’s oil exports.

The vessels were heading to the Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka terminal near the Russian port of Novorossiysk. The terminal handles around 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports to international markets, as well as some Russian crude.

One of the tankers was chartered by US oil major Chevron. Companies involved said all crew members were safe and the ships remained stable.

Chevron said the tanker it had chartered was not seriously damaged and was moving towards a safe port. The company added that it was working with the ship operator and authorities following the incident.

The attacks came as Kazakhstan’s oil and gas condensate output dropped sharply in early January. A source familiar with production figures said output between January 1 and January 12 was down by about 35% compared with December’s average.

The source said the fall was mainly due to export problems through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which carries Kazakh oil to the Black Sea via Russia.

Export flows had already been affected by winter storms and damage to infrastructure from an earlier drone attack, according to industry sources.

The Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka terminal was previously attacked on November 29, when a Ukrainian drone damaged one of CPC’s three main moorings. Kazakhstan’s energy ministry said on Tuesday that oil exports were continuing through one remaining mooring.

CPC operates a 1,500-kilometre pipeline and is owned by several companies, including Kazakhstan’s state oil firm KazMunayGas, Russia’s Lukoil, and subsidiaries of Chevron and ExxonMobil.

One of the tankers hit on Tuesday was the Delta Harmony, managed by Greece-based Delta Tankers. Industry sources said the vessel was due to load Kazakh oil produced by Tengizchevroil, which is led by Chevron.

Delta Tankers later confirmed that the ship was struck by a projectile at around 0512 GMT while off the coast of Novorossiysk.

The company said a small fire broke out on board but was quickly put out. It said there were no injuries, no pollution, and that the vessel was able to move away from the area under its own power.

Delta Tankers also said another vessel under its management, Delta Supreme, was not affected, denying earlier reports that it had been hit.

Another tanker, Matilda, chartered by a subsidiary of KazMunayGas and managed by Greek firm Thenamaris, was also attacked.

Sources said the vessel was expected to load Kazakh oil from the Karachaganak field. Kazakhstan’s energy ministry later confirmed that both Delta Harmony and Matilda were struck by drones.

A Thenamaris official said Matilda was hit by two drones while waiting in ballast condition about 30 miles from CPC’s moorings. The official said the ship suffered minor damage to deck structures, which was fully repairable, and that there were no injuries.

The vessel was described as seaworthy and sailing away from the area. Maritime security sources separately said a fire briefly broke out on board and was quickly extinguished.

A fourth tanker, Freud, managed by Greece’s TMS, was initially thought to have been attacked, but the company later said its vessel had not been hit.

Russian Black Sea terminals handle more than 2% of global crude shipments. The Black Sea is also an important route for grain exports and is shared by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and Turkey, as well as Russia and Ukraine, making security in the area critical for global trade.

Reference: Reuters

Source: Maritime Shipping News