On the evening of October 6, a civilian tanker caught fire in the Black Sea off the coast of Sochi, which, according to preliminary data, may have been attacked by maritime drones. Smoke rose over the city, and residents of central Sochi reported smog coming from the sea.
According to eyewitness footage, the vessel is the Liberia-flagged tanker Aframax Rio, which, according to the Ukrainian monitoring channel Supernova, caught fire in neutral waters off the coast. The vessel-tracking service Vesselfinder showed its position at sea near Sirius, the federal territory next to Sochi, at least a day ago.
The public page “ЧП Сочи” reported that smog rose over the city center. Residents of the Central District described thick smoke coming from the sea, and a subscriber to “Настоящего времени” said that “the smell is noticeable” on the shore.
Several channels claim that no sounds of explosions were heard before the fire started. At the same time, local social media posts said the tanker was attacked by unmanned boats, and a rescue operation was reported to be underway “in especially dangerous conditions”.
Mash, citing MarineTraffic data, writes that Aframax Rio was carrying crude oil from Novorossiysk to India. According to this version, the vessel had been drifting off the coast for several days, and around 18:00 flames broke out on board; the captain requested the evacuation of 23 crew members.
In February, Kyiv imposed sanctions on the vessel, saying it was suspected of being used to circumvent restrictions against Russia. The authorities have not commented on the situation yet.
Sources
