Tanker Fire Off Sochi Coast in Suspected Ukrainian Drone Attack
Cubierto por 3 fuentesPublicado
- MARITIME_EXECUTIVETanker Catches Fire, Spills Oil off Russian Resort Town of Sochi
- Trade newsGreek tanker ablaze off Russia in presumed Ukrainian sea drone strike
- marinetraffic_maritimenewsCrude Oil Tanker Ablaze off Russian Coast Following Ukrainian Drone Attack
- Trade newsGreek tanker ablaze off Russia in presumed Ukrainian sea drone strike
On October 6, 2026, a tanker caught fire off the coast of Sochi, Russia, in the Black Sea, in what is believed to have been an attack by Ukrainian naval drones. The crew, made up of 23 Indian sailors, was safely evacuated to shore.
Conflicting reports on the vessel's identity
Outlets such as Trade News and marinetraffic_maritimenews identified the vessel as the Aframax Rio, a Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned tanker previously sanctioned by Ukraine for its alleged involvement in Russian oil exports. However, Maritime Executive noted that although initial reports pointed to that vessel, maritime tracking data placed the Aframax Rio near the town of Sirius, far from the heat signature detected by NASA infrared sensors, and that the firm TankerTrackers.com identified the burning vessel as the Sphere, a Russian-flagged tanker (IMO 9323974) built in 2006 and registered in Hong Kong.
According to marinetraffic_maritimenews, the incident occurred on the night of October 6 near Sochi, in the Krasnodar region, as the vessel was carrying crude oil from Novorossiysk to India and was nearly fully loaded. An unmanned naval drone reportedly struck the vessel, triggering a major fire that also reached the oil cargo on board.
Firefighting efforts were hampered by the intensity of the flames, and Russia's Ministry of Transport reported that emergency crews were only able to approach once the fire began to subside. A column of black smoke was visible from Sochi, prompting authorities to begin monitoring air and water quality and to cordon off coastal areas near the vessel.
Ukraine did not officially claim responsibility for the attack. Maritime Executive cited the Russian channel ExileNova+, which stated that there were no air raid sirens or sounds of explosions before the fire broke out, leaving it unclear whether the incident was accidental or the result of an attack. Trade News, on the other hand, suggested that Ukraine may have resumed attacks on tankers linked to the Russian oil trade.
