23 Indian crew rescued after drone boat attack on tanker near Sochi

A Liberia-flagged tanker carrying 23 Indian crew members was hit by drone boats near Sochi. All sailors were rescued, but the attack sharpened concerns over Black Sea shipping safety.

In Short

• Russian authorities said preliminary checks showed no injuries among rescued sailors
• The blaze delayed firefighting as burning oil blocked rescue vessels nearby
• Sochi shut beaches and embankments temporarily amid fears from the tanker fire

A Liberia-flagged oil tanker with 23 Indian crew members came under attack by drone boats off Russia's Black Sea coast, Russian authorities said. The crew was rescued and brought ashore, with the Russian transport ministry saying that none of the Indians was hurt according to preliminary information.

The vessel, identified as the Aframax Rio, was attacked on Tuesday by unmanned surface vessels, or USVs, near Sochi, the popular Russian resort city on the Black Sea coast. The attack triggered a major fire, with Russian authorities saying oil was burning openly at sea and that rescue vessels could not immediately move in because of the intensity of the blaze.

"The crew has been saved and evacuated to shore," a spokesman for the Russian transport ministry told state-run TASS news agency. The ministry said the all-Indian crew of 23 had been rescued and that no one was injured, according to preliminary data.

Russia's Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin held a headquarters meeting on dealing with the aftermath of the attack on the Aframax Rio. According to the report, the fire was so intense that firefighting could not begin at first. "Open burning of oil is currently taking place in the Black Sea area. Firefighting can begin only after the intensity decreases, when it becomes possible for rescue vessels to approach the tanker safely," the report said.

As a precaution, Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin temporarily banned access to the city's beaches. "The city's emergency response centre has made a decision to temporarily ban access to the beaches and sea embankments. Sochi residents and guests are kindly requested not to expose to risks and wait for an official decision regarding their reopening," Proshunin wrote on his Telegram channel.

The Black Sea is a key global trade route and has faced serious disruption because of escalating attacks on commercial shipping and port infrastructure linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The latest attack came two days after at least two people were killed and some crew members, including one Indian, were injured when a Russian drone strike caused a fire on a Turkish-owned civilian cargo vessel in the Black Sea.

India said it viewed these attacks on commercial shipping and seafarers with grave concern. "The targeting of traffic in international waterways is severely undermining global commerce and welfare of people across the world," the Ministry of External Affairs said. "We continue to call for dialogue and diplomacy to bring an end to the ongoing conflicts." On Sunday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India had moved beyond advocacy and stepped up its efforts in recent months to resolve the Ukraine conflict by engaging in conversations with both Kyiv and Moscow. Overall, the attack on the Aframax Rio left its 23 Indian crew members safe, but added to growing concern over risks to commercial shipping in the Black Sea.

With PTI Inputs

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