Kumar Bahukhandi
Russia’s transport ministry said a Liberian-flagged tanker had been attacked by “naval drones” and that “crude oil is burning openly in the waters of the Black Sea”. (Image: X)
Liberian-flagged Aframax Rio catches fire near Sochi after unmanned-vessel attack; Russian authorities report no injuries as Black Sea shipping faces growing wartime risks
Key Highlights
- All 23 crew members — all Indian nationals — were safely rescued.
- The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Aframax Rio caught fire off Russia’s Black Sea coast near Sochi on Tuesday.
- Russia’s Transport Ministry said the tanker was attacked by an unmanned vessel, with some Russian reports describing the attackers as naval drones.
- No injuries among the Indian crew were reported.
- Nearby beaches in the Sirius area were temporarily closed as a precaution.
- The incident comes amid a sharp increase in threats to commercial shipping across the Black Sea.
Moscow: Twenty-three Indian sailors were safely rescued after an oil tanker caught fire off Russia’s Black Sea coast near Sochi following an attack by an unmanned vessel on Tuesday, October 6, Russian authorities said.
The Aframax Rio, a Liberian-flagged crude-oil tanker, was set ablaze in the attack, producing a large fire and thick black smoke visible from the coastline. Russia’s Transport Ministry confirmed that all 23 people aboard were Indian nationals and that none was injured.
The ministry said emergency teams evacuated the entire crew while efforts were made to bring the fire under control.
Initial reports said the intensity of the blaze made firefighting difficult. The ministry subsequently said emergency services had sufficient resources to tackle the fire once its intensity subsided.
Russian authorities describe unmanned-vessel attack
Russian authorities said the tanker had been attacked by an unmanned vessel. Other Russian reports described the attack as involving uncrewed or “naval” boats.
While several reports have attributed the strike to Ukraine, the Russian Transport Ministry statement cited by Reuters did not publicly identify the attacker. For that reason, responsibility should be distinguished from Russia’s confirmation that an unmanned vessel struck the tanker.
The incident occurred near Sochi, one of Russia’s best-known Black Sea resort cities.
Images and videos circulating from the area showed a towering column of dark smoke over the sea and flames burning offshore.
Oil burning in Black Sea
Russian authorities reported that crude oil was burning openly in the Black Sea following the attack, raising concerns about the possible environmental consequences of the incident.
Authorities in Sirius, in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, temporarily restricted public access to nearby beaches while emergency operations continued.
Local authorities also monitored air and water conditions. Sirius administration head Dmitry Plishkin said monitoring at that stage showed pollutant concentrations in the air remained well below maximum permissible levels and did not pose a health threat. AA.com.tr
The extent of any oil spill and the final condition of the tanker were not immediately clear from the initial official accounts.
Indian crew escapes without injuries
For India, the most significant development was the safe evacuation of the tanker’s entire crew.
Russia’s Transport Ministry specifically confirmed that all 23 sailors aboard were Indian citizens and that there were no reported injuries.
Their rescue came amid increasingly dangerous conditions for civilian and commercial vessels operating in and around the Black Sea.
Only a day earlier, another commercial vessel carrying Indian and Azerbaijani crew members was involved in a deadly incident near Romania. Romanian authorities said two people died and 11 were rescued after a fire aboard the Royad Mammadov. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attributed that incident to a Russian drone strike, while Romania had not initially confirmed the cause.
Black Sea shipping increasingly caught in conflict
Commercial shipping in the Black Sea has faced mounting risks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ports, naval facilities, energy infrastructure and vessels linked to the two countries have increasingly become targets, while attacks involving missiles and unmanned aerial and maritime systems have heightened risks for civilian crews operating in the region.
Tuesday’s tanker fire off Sochi underscores that danger: 23 Indian sailors found themselves directly exposed to a conflict thousands of kilometres from home, despite serving aboard a Liberian-flagged commercial vessel.
All of them survived the incident without reported injuries, but the attack adds to growing concerns over the safety of international seafarers and commercial navigation as the Russia-Ukraine conflict increasingly spills into Black Sea shipping routes.
