Sochi and Sirius closed beaches after a tanker caught fire off the resort. Russia's transport minister said unmanned boats hit the ship and that all 23 Indian crew members were rescued.
Authorities in Sochi and the neighbouring federal territory of Sirius closed beaches after a tanker caught fire offshore, The Moscow Times reported on Wednesday. Mayor Andrei Proshunin said the city's beaches and waterfront promenades would stay closed until further notice. The fire broke out around 6 p.m. on Tuesday and sent thick smoke over the resort.
Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin said the oil-laden tanker had been attacked by unmanned boats and that all 23 crew members, who are Indian nationals, were rescued, the paper reported. The transport ministry said oil was burning in the Black Sea and maintained that the fire did not cause a spill.
The Moscow Times said preliminary reports identified the vessel as the Aframax Rio, which open-source reporting by Astra suggested may have been carrying 95,000 to 100,000 metric tons of oil. Those cargo figures are not an official ministry tally. The Telegram channel Mash reported that the Liberian-flagged ship had been sailing from Novorossiysk toward India and was almost fully loaded.
RFE/RL also reported that Russian authorities described an apparent drone attack and that the 23 Indian crew were rescued. It said the monitoring site BlackSeaNews identified the vessel as part of what it calls Russia's shadow fleet. Placement of the ship, in territorial or international waters, differed across local and Ukrainian monitoring channels cited by The Moscow Times.
Beach closures remained in force on Wednesday. No official environmental assessment beyond the ministry's statement that there was no spill was included in the reports used here.