Sanctioned oil tanker on fire in the Black Sea near Sochi: details (video)

The Liberian-flagged AFRAMAX RIO oil tanker caught fire on October 6 in the Black Sea near Sochi.

This was reported by The Maritime Executive. 

The Russian Ministry of Transport claims that the Liberian-flagged vessel, which was transporting oil, was allegedly attacked by unmanned boats

There were 23 crew members on board – all Indian citizens. They were evacuated, no one was injured.

Russia also reported an open burning of oil. Rescuers said they had enough means to extinguish the fire, but they planned to start direct work after the intensity of the fire decreased.

Maritime Executive, citing a video from the scene, notes that the fire was concentrated in the area of ​​​​the cargo tanks. The footage also shows burning liquid on the surface of the water behind the ship.

Telegram channel  Mash claims that the tanker was carrying oil from Novorossiysk to India. According to him, it is about the Aframax Rio, which sails under the flag of Liberia. Astra provides the same information.

The head of the administration of the federal territory “Sirius” Dmitry Plishkin soon заявив that due to the fire on the tanker, local beaches would be temporarily closed. He asked residents to “refrain from staying on the streets for a long time and, if possible, not to open windows in the premises.”

“Constant monitoring of the state of water and air is carried out jointly with Roshydromet,” Plishkin added.

Reference. AFRAMAX RIO (IMO 9273844) is a crude oil tanker built in 2004. Its deadweight is about 107 thousand tons, length – 247 meters.

The vessel is under sanctions by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine as part of the Russian “shadow fleet.” At the same time, according to Укрінформу, Ukrinform, the AFRAMAX RIO is not included in the sanctions lists of the EU and Ukraine’s allies. Previously, the tanker has repeatedly transported oil from Russian ports, in particular Ust-Luga, Novorossiysk and Taman.

At the same time, data on the vessel’s current voyage remain contradictory. The Russian Telegram channels mentioned above claimed that the tanker was heading from Novorossiysk to India, but the open MarineTraffic data cited by Ukrinform did not show the AFRAMAX RIO’s last approach to Russian Black Sea ports. The vessel’s last available position was approximately 15 km from Sochi.