The vessels Delta Supreme and Delta Harmony (owned by Delta Tankers), as well as Freud (TMS) and Matilda (Thenamaris), were attacked. According to Thenamaris, their tanker, which was heading to load oil from the Karachaganak field, was attacked by an unknown number of drones outside the KTK terminal, sustaining minor deck damage, and continues to be at sea.
According to Reuters, the vessels were attacked on their way to the "Southern Ozyoreevka" terminal, located near Novorossiysk, which serves as a loading point for 80% of Kazakhstan's oil intended for export.
Bloomberg believes that such attacks could exacerbate the shipping problems at the KTK terminals, which had suspended oil transshipment for five days due to adverse weather conditions and only resumed operations on Tuesday. According to sources from Reuters, KTK had to cancel at least 19 scheduled shipments for January, as terminal operations were limited to just one of the three offshore mooring devices (OMD-1), while stormy conditions complicated the loading process.
According to one informant, the average export volume of KTK for the first 12 days of January was about 500,000 barrels, whereas the initial plan was 1.65 million barrels per day. As a result of supply issues through KTK, oil production in Kazakhstan for the first 12 days of January decreased by 35% compared to December, amounting to 1.21 million barrels per day, the source noted.
It is worth recalling that in November 2025, the KTK terminal in Novorossiysk suspended oil shipments after an attack by Ukrainian drone boats, which resulted in damage to OMD-2, which has not yet been put back into operation. OMD-3 is currently undergoing scheduled repairs.
