The Kazakhstan ministry of foreign affairs has voiced its protest after the attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, the ministry’s spokesperson said in a statement.
Kazakhstan “expresses its protest over yet another deliberate attack on the critical infrastructure of the international Caspian Pipeline Consortium in the waters of the Port of Novorossiysk,” the ministry said.
Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry condemned the strike, calling it the third series of attacks on what it described as “an exclusively civilian facility whose operation is safeguarded by norms of international law.”
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium said on Saturday that one of the three single point moorings had been damaged by an attack of drone boats and that SPM-2 operations had been halted.
CPC Crude Oil Pipeline System is one of the major projects in CIS energy sector. The length of the Tengiz – Novorossiysk pipeline is 1,511 km. This route transports over two-thirds of all Kazakhstan export oil, and crude from Russian oil fields, including those in the Caspian Region.
CPC Marine Terminal is equipped with three single point moorings (SPM) that allow to load tankers safely at a significant distance offshore.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium unites major fuel and energy companies from Russia, USA, Kazakhstan and from several countries of Western Europe.
In its statement, Kazakhstan called the incident a step that negatively affects relations between Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The government said it expects effective measures from Kyiv to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The ministry reiterated that Kazakhstan, as a responsible participant in the global energy market, consistently advocates for maintaining the stability and uninterrupted supply of energy resources.
“We emphasize that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium plays an important role in supporting the stability of the global energy system,” the press service explained.
“We view what has occurred as an action harming the bilateral relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and we expect the Ukrainian side to take effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future,” the statement read.
Türkiye’s foreign ministry also voiced concern over the attacks carried out on November 28 against two tankers in the Black Sea.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson said this in a statement seen by Shipping Telegraph.
He stated that Turkish authorities are maintaining their contacts with the relevant parties to prevent the spread and further escalation of the war across the Black Sea, and to avoid any negative impact on Türkiye’s economic interests and activities in the region.
“We view with concern the attacks carried out on November 28 against the Gambian-flagged commercial tankers “KAIROS” and “VIRAT” in the Black Sea. These incidents, which occurred within Türkiye’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the Black Sea, have posed serious risks to the safety of navigation, life, property, and the environment in the region,” the Turkish foreign ministry emphasized.
The first vessel, Kairos, notified the Turkish authorities on November 28 of an “external impact” causing a fire approximately 28 nautical miles off the Turkish coast.
Within an hour, the Turkish Directorate General for Maritime Affairs reported that a second tanker named as Virat was “struck” approximately 35 nautical miles offshore in the Black Sea.
Comment by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on attacks in the Black Sea:
The spokeswoman of Russia foreign ministry issued the following statement on attacks in the Black Sea.
“On November 28, in the southern Black Sea off the coast of Türkiye, unmanned seagoing boats attacked and damaged the tankers Kairos and Virat, sailing under the Gambian flag and en route to the port of Novorossiysk; the following morning, the Virat was attacked a second time.
“Furthermore, in the early hours of November 29, a similar attack by unmanned surface vessels took place within the seaport of Novorossiysk itself, rendering a VPU-2 mooring unit completely inoperable. This critical infrastructure belongs to the international Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which comprises fuel and energy companies from Russia, Kazakhstan, the United States, and several Western European nations.
“The Kiev regime’s intelligence services have all but claimed responsibility for these attacks, publishing video evidence of the acts in Ukrainian media.
“We strongly condemn these terrorist attacks and the actions of all parties involved in their planning and execution. Our friends in the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs have already lodged a protest concerning this latest, third act of aggression against the CPC. Our Turkish partners have also expressed their concern over these events. We must emphasise that the targeted civilian energy infrastructure plays a vital role in ensuring global energy security and has never been subject to any international restrictions or sanctions.”
