Astana, Jan 28 (EFE).— Oil tankers attacked by Ukrainian drones two weeks ago in the Black Sea were not part of any shadow fleet, Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said Wednesday.
“These tankers did not belong to any ‘grey’ fleet, so to speak. They were not under restrictions, nor were they on any blacklist,” Akkenzhenov told reporters after addressing parliament.
No link to Russia’s “shadow fleet”
Kazakhstan said the two tankers attacked in January near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) were unrelated to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which transports oil while evading international sanctions.
The ministry added that the vessels could have been properly identified and were operating legally.
At the time of the attack, the tankers were almost 140 kilometers from Novorossiysk Bay, where CPC facilities are located.
KazMunayGaz confirms tanker status
On Jan. 13, Kazakhstan’s state oil and gas company KazMunayGaz reported that unidentified drones hit tankers waiting in the Black Sea to be loaded.
According to the company, “the vessel Matilda was chartered by Kazmortransflot,” a subsidiary of KazMunayGaz.
Export losses and restoration of operations
Akkenzhenov said attacks on infrastructure linked to the CPC caused Kazakhstan to lose exports of about 3.8 million tonnes of oil.
Operations at the consortium have since been fully restored and it “is currently operating at full capacity,” he said.
Two new offshore loading units are expected to arrive from the United Arab Emirates within a month and will require an additional 40 days to be installed.
CPC condemns attacks on civilian infrastructure
The CPC, which includes companies from Kazakhstan, the United States, Russia and several European countries, accused Ukraine in November of “attacking the interests of the participating countries.”
“We want to stress that this is the third attack on an exclusively civilian structure protected by international law. Previously, the Kropotkinskaya pumping station and CPC offices in Novorossiysk were attacked,” the consortium said.
Key role of CPC in Kazakhstan’s exports
In 2024, the CPC pipeline transported more than 63 million tonnes of oil.
The 1,551-kilometer pipeline carries up to two-thirds of Kazakhstan’s crude exports, as well as oil from Russian fields in the Caspian region. EFE