Kazakhstan-owned Matilda tanker explodes after drone attack, oil company says UPDATED

An explosion occurred on the tanker Matilda, chartered by KazMunayGas’ subsidiary Kazmortransflot, after the vessel was attacked by a drone near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, KazMunayGaz said in a statement, cited by Caliber.Az.

The tanker was scheduled to load Kazakh oil on January 18. The blast occurred, but no fire broke out.

“There was a crew on board, and no one was injured. Initial inspections show the vessel remains seaworthy. No serious damage has been identified, though damage assessment is ongoing,” said a statement from Kazmunaigas’ press service.

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy added that the CPC terminal continues operations via the offshore berth VPU-1, and oil loading continues depending on weather conditions.

16:48

Four Greek-managed oil tankers were attacked by unidentified drones on Tuesday in the Black Sea while en route to load oil at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal off the Russian coast.

One of the vessels, Delta Harmony, managed by Greece’s Delta Tankers, was scheduled to load Kazakh-produced oil from Tengizchevroil, a unit of U.S. oil major Chevron. Another tanker, Matilda, managed by Greece’s Thenamaris, was due to load oil from the Karachaganak field, Caliber.Az reports via Reuters.

A Thenamaris official confirmed that Matilda was hit by two drones approximately 30 miles from the CPC terminal while in ballast condition. “There were no injuries and the ship suffered minor damage to deck structures according to an initial assessment, which is fully repairable. The ship, seaworthy as it is, is now sailing away from the area,” the official said. Maritime security sources added that a fire reportedly broke out onboard but was quickly extinguished.

Two additional tankers, Freud, managed by Greece’s TMS, and Delta Supreme, managed by Delta Tankers, were also targeted near the CPC terminal, according to three sources.

The CPC pipeline transports oil to the Black Sea’s Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka terminal, near Novorossiysk in southern Russia, and handles around 80 percent of Kazakhstan’s oil exports.

It remains unclear who was responsible for the drone attacks. Ukraine did not immediately comment, and CPC declined to comment. The incident follows a November 29 attack by a Ukrainian drone on one of the main CPC moorings near Novorossiysk, which caused a temporary reduction in Kazakhstan’s oil exports and output.

11:40

The Greek tanker Delta Harmony was attacked by drones for several minutes in the Black Sea near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, the military Telegram channel Fighterbomber writes.

A fire broke out on the vessel but was quickly extinguished.

The ship remains underway.

A similar previous incident occurred on January 8, 2026, when the Palau-flagged tanker Elbus, which was en route from Singapore to Russia's Novorossiysk, was hit by a suspected drone/unmanned surface vessel off Türkiye's Black Sea coast, sustaining upper deck damage, smoke, and prompting a diversion for Turkish coastguard assistance. No crew injuries or spills were reported initially.

By Khagan Isayev