The Russian Ministry of Transport confirmed the cause of the tanker fire off the coast of Sochi.

The Aframax Rio tanker caught fire after an attack by unmanned boats, the crew of the vessel has been evacuated, reported the Russian Ministry of Transport.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on the evening of October 6, an oil tanker caught fire in the Black Sea near Sochi. The head of Sirius announced the closure of beaches and recommended that residents stay indoors. According to sources, the Aframax Rio tanker was "carrying crude oil from Novorossiysk to India and was loaded almost to capacity."

The vessel, carrying oil and sailing under the flag of Liberia, was attacked by unmanned boats, reported the results of the meeting of the headquarters for eliminating the consequences of the attack on the tanker "Aframax Rio" off the Black Sea coast.

The Russian Ministry of Transport confirmed the information about the cause of the fire on the vessel under the flag of Liberia in the Black Sea, stating that the fire was a result of an attack by unmanned boats.

According to the agency, there are no casualties, and the crew of the tanker has been evacuated. All 23 crew members are citizens of India.

Due to the intense burning of oil in the waters of the Black Sea, rescue vessels cannot safely approach the tanker for now. Firefighting efforts will begin after the intensity of the fire decreases, the Ministry of Transport clarified.

The head of Sochi, Andrey Proshunin, reported that access to the seaside promenades and beaches of the resort city is restricted. "An automatic control post continuously monitors air and water quality. A detailed analysis and visual inspection of the situation will begin early in the morning," the official wrote in his Telegram channel.

The head of the Sirius administration, Dmitry Plishkin, in turn, reported that the quality of atmospheric air has not been affected. "Concentrations of pollutants in the federal territory of 'Sirius' remain several times lower than the maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) and do not pose a threat to health," his channel's message states.

Ecologist Georgy Kavanoyan expressed concerns that a significant amount of oil could enter the sea.

"The Aframax Rio, which sails under the flag of Liberia, is on fire near Sochi. The vessels 'Volgoneft' had a deadweight (carrying capacity) of up to 5 thousand tons. Two tankers mean 10 thousand tons, while the deadweight of Aframax Rio is up to 107 thousand tons. Of course, most of the oil will likely burn, but the situation is very, very alarming," he wrote in his Telegram channel.

The tankers "Volgoneft-212" and "Volgoneft-239" sank in the Kerch Strait on December 15, 2024. The destruction of their hulls led to a large-scale spill of oil products, which resulted in a federal state of emergency being declared in the Krasnodar region on December 26 of the same year.

Materials on the consequences of the fuel oil spill have been collected by "Caucasian Knot" on the page "Ecological Disaster in Kuban". Also, "Caucasian Knot" has published a report "The Scale of Pollution in Southern Russia with Fuel Oil".