Sochi and the neighbouring territory of Sirius closed beaches after a tanker caught fire offshore on Tuesday. Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin said unmanned boats attacked the vessel and that all 23 crew, Indian nationals, were rescued.
Authorities in Sochi and the neighbouring federal territory of Sirius closed beaches after a tanker caught fire offshore following a reported attack by naval drones, The Moscow Times reported. Mayor Andrei Proshunin said beaches and waterfront promenades would stay closed until further notice.
The fire broke out around 6 p.m. on Tuesday and sent black smoke over the city. Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin said unmanned boats attacked the oil-laden tanker and that all 23 crew members, Indian nationals, were rescued. The transport ministry said oil was burning in the Black Sea and maintained that the fire did not cause an oil spill.
Preliminary reports identified the vessel as the Aframax Rio, which may have been carrying 95,000 to 100,000 metric tons of oil, according to open-source information cited from the outlet Astra. The Telegram channel Mash reported that the Liberian-flagged ship had been sailing from Novorossiysk toward India.
Local channels initially placed the tanker in international waters. The Ukrainian monitoring channel Crimean Wind said satellite imagery showed it drifting in Russian territorial waters about 11 kilometres off Sochi. Kyiv has not been cited in the Moscow Times report as claiming the strike.
People Sentiments Negative
- Andrei Nikitin said unmanned boats attacked the tanker and that all 23 crew were rescued.
- The transport ministry said oil was burning in the Black Sea but that the fire did not cause a spill.