Russia’s Transport Ministry said all 23 Indian crew members were rescued; independent reports confirm the fire but do not establish who was responsible for the attack.
The Liberia-flagged tanker Aframax Rio caught fire off Sochi after being attacked by unmanned marine craft, Russia’s Transport Ministry said. All 23 crew members, who were Indian nationals, were rescued. The ministry said preliminary information indicated there were no injuries. Reuters also reported the Russian ministry’s account of the rescue and the fire.
The ministry said oil was burning on the surface of the Black Sea and that rescue teams could not safely approach the vessel while the fire remained intense. Firefighting was to begin once it weakened. Authorities in the Sirius federal territory said beaches were temporarily closed; they reported that air pollutant levels remained below permissible limits.
HotNews, citing AFP, said the tanker had been hit in a Ukrainian attack. Reuters, however, described an attack by an unidentified unmanned vessel, and the ministry statement it reported did not identify the party responsible. Ukraine’s responsibility therefore remains an attribution made by the source and has not been independently confirmed.
The Romanian outlet also placed the incident in the broader context of risks to commercial shipping in the Black Sea. Confirmed information available at publication concerned the fire off the coast, the crew’s rescue and temporary beach restrictions; reports did not provide a verified estimate of any oil spill.