Aframax Rio burns off Sochi after uncrewed boat attack; 23 crew rescued

The Liberia-flagged crude tanker Aframax Rio caught fire in the Black Sea off Sochi on Tuesday 6 October after being attacked by uncrewed surface vessels. Russia's Ministry of Transport said all 23 crew, all Indian nationals, had been rescued, with no injuries reported in preliminary information. The ministry said oil was burning openly on the sea.

The 107,113 dwt tanker, built in 2004, is registered to Rio Enterprises SA and managed by Hellenic Tankers. She was loaded with crude oil bound for India. Tracking data last placed her on Monday 5 October just off Sirius, a coastal town southeast of Sochi.

What did the fire look like from shore?

The ship was clearly visible from the coast, and footage shared on Russian social media showed a large fire centred on the cargo tanks amidships, followed by burning oil spreading aft along the starboard side. Later images showed a wide pool of burning oil on the water astern and a tall column of smoke. NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System recorded a large, intense heat signature west of Sochi, to the northwest of the tanker's last tracked position.

Satellite-based identifications initially named a different Russian-flagged tanker before being corrected to Aframax Rio. Local accounts said no air raid sirens or explosions were heard before the fire broke out.

Dmitry Plishkin, head of the Sirius federal territory administration, temporarily closed local beaches. "The state of water and air is constantly monitored in cooperation with the Russian Hydrometeorological Service," he said, adding that pollutant concentrations in the air were "many times below maximum permissible levels".

Why was Aframax Rio a target?

Ukraine added Aframax Rio to its sanctions list on 12 February 2026, one of 91 vessels it designated that day as part of Russia's shadow fleet for their role in carrying Russian oil. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

The fire is the third serious attack on merchant shipping in the Black Sea in two days. On 5 October the general cargo ship Royad Mammadov sank off Romania after a drone strike, and on 6 October drones sank Alfa Watan and set the wheat-laden Able on fire inside Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. Alfa Watan sinks off Bulgaria

This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 7 October 2026.