Drone attack sets oil tanker with 23 Indians ablaze near Russia’s Sochi
The Aframax Rio vessel was reportedly travelling from Novorossiysk to India and was carrying between 95,000 and 1,00,000 metric tons of oil
A Liberia-flagged oil tanker, the Aframax Rio, was attacked by drone boats off Russia's Black Sea coast near Sochi, causing a significant fire. All 23 Indian crew members were successfully rescued, with no reported casualties. The incident led to temporary closures of Sochi's beaches and embankments as emergency services worked to contain the blaze. While media reports suggest a Ukrainian drone attack, Russian authorities have not yet officially confirmed the perpetrator. This event is the latest in a series of maritime incidents in the Black Sea, highlighting ongoing regional tensions.
A Liberia-flagged oil tanker, the Aframax Rio, was attacked by drone boats off Russia's Black Sea coast near Sochi, causing a significant fire. All 23 Indian crew members were successfully rescued, with no reported casualties. The incident led to temporary closures of Sochi's beaches and embankments as emergency services worked to contain the blaze. While media reports suggest a Ukrainian drone attack, Russian authorities have not yet officially confirmed the perpetrator. This event is the latest in a series of maritime incidents in the Black Sea, highlighting ongoing regional tensions.
A Liberia-flagged oil tanker, the Aframax Rio, was attacked by drone boats off Russia's Black Sea coast near Sochi, causing a significant fire. All 23 Indian crew members were successfully rescued, with no reported casualties. The incident led to temporary closures of Sochi's beaches and embankments as emergency services worked to contain the blaze. While media reports suggest a Ukrainian drone attack, Russian authorities have not yet officially confirmed the perpetrator. This event is the latest in a series of maritime incidents in the Black Sea, highlighting ongoing regional tensions.
A Liberia-flagged oil tanker, with 23 Indian crew members on board, caught fire after it was attacked by drone boats off Russia’s Black Sea coast. Moscow confirmed that all crew members have been rescued with no casualties.
"A ship with a load of oil, flying the Liberian flag, was attacked by unmanned surface vessels (USV)," the Russian transport ministry told Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
Russian authorities said the Aframax Rio vessel came under attack around 6:00pm on Tuesday and reportedly triggered a fire near Russia’s popular resort city of Sochi.
“The city’s emergency response centre has made a decision to temporarily ban access to the beaches and sea embankments. Sochi residents and guests are kindly requested not to expose themselves to risks and wait for an official decision regarding their reopening,” Proshunin wrote on his Telegram channel.
Social media footage shot from Sochi at night shows bright flames engulfing the ship and a thick plume of black smoke rising.
Reports indicate the vessel was travelling from Novorossiysk to India and was carrying between 95,000 and 1,00,000 metric tons of oil. Mayor Andrey Proshunin has ordered restrictions on access to Sochi's coast and beaches.
Media reports claim that it was a Ukrainian drone attack, though Russia has yet to confirm it. The crude oil in the tanker was burning, making it difficult for firefighters to approach the intense blaze.
The fire is yet to be brought under control and will be extinguished after the intensity decreases.
Russia’s transport minister Andrey Nikitin held a meeting to address the consequences of the attack and stated that the country’s forces were sufficient to handle the situation.
The attack comes two days after two people were killed and some crew members, including an Indian, were injured after a Russian drone attack set ablaze a Turkish-owned civilian cargo vessel in the Black Sea. In another incident on October 4, one person was killed, and several were injured in a Russian drone strike on an Indian firm’s pharmaceutical plant in Ukraine.