Ukrainian drone attack sets fire to oil tanker carrying 23 Indians off Russia

Ukrainian drones attack oil tanker off Russia

All 23 crew members aboard a Liberian-flagged oil tanker were rescued after the vessel caught fire off Russia’s Black Sea coast following an attack by Ukrainian drones, with the entire crew reported to be Indian nationals.Russia’s transport ministry said the tanker, Aframax Rio, was attacked by “naval drones” on Tuesday, triggering a fire in the Black Sea near the Russian resort city of Sochi.The ministry said there were no injuries among the crew, according to Reuters.The ministry said emergency crews rescued all 23 people aboard the tanker.The attack caused crude oil to burn openly in the Black Sea, according to the Russian transport ministry.

Firefighters were initially unable to tackle the blaze because of its intensity, but the ministry said they had sufficient means to fight the fire once it became less intense.

Indian crew rescued as tanker catches fire

The vessel was carrying a crew made up entirely of Indian nationals.The tanker was reported to be on fire off Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, with a large cloud of black smoke visible from Sochi. Authorities in the Sirius federal territory closed beaches following the incident, while water and air quality were being monitored.“According to atmospheric air quality monitoring data, pollutant concentrations in the Sirius Federal Territory remain many times lower than the maximum permissible concentrations and pose no threat to health,” Dmitry Plishkin, head of the Sirius federal territory administration, said.The Russian transport ministry said the tanker was attacked by an unmanned vessel.

Attack comes amid wider Black Sea shipping risks

The incident took place amid a series of attacks involving commercial shipping in the Black Sea since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Both Russia and Ukraine have heavily targeted commercial shipping around the Black Sea during the conflict. Russia has in recent days attacked grain vessels carrying Ukrainian goods near the coast of Romania.Earlier on Tuesday, a Russian strike on a merchant vessel flying the Marshall Islands flag in the Black Sea killed at least one crew member and injured several others.The vessel was carrying rapeseed oil and caught fire after its superstructure was damaged.Two other merchant ships, the Togo-flagged Alfa Watan and Palau-flagged Able, were also hit by drones of unknown origin about 112 kilometres off Bulgaria’s coast.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied that Ukrainian forces were behind those strikes near Bulgaria.

Sochi coast placed under restrictions

Videos and photographs circulated on social media showed large flames burning offshore and a thick column of black smoke over Sochi.Sochi Mayor said access to the coast and beaches was being restricted. Beaches in Sirius were also closed following the tanker fire.The Aframax Rio was reportedly near the Russian coast when the attack took place. Russian independent media had reported the incident, while MarineTraffic had last located the tanker in the Black Sea near the Russia-Georgia border.The vessel was included on Ukraine’s sanctions list as part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”, according to The Kyiv Independent.

India raises concern over attacks on shipping

The tanker incident comes amid attacks on commercial vessels in other key maritime routes involving Indian crew members.The ministry of external affairs had earlier condemned an attack on MV Royad Mammadov in the Black Sea, in which two foreign seafarers were killed and some crew members, including three Indian nationals, were injured. The three Indians were reported safe after receiving medical treatment in Romania.The MEA also condemned an attack on the Panama-flagged MT On Peace off Oman while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel had 19 crew members, including 17 Indians, and 12 crew members were injured, including 11 Indians, according to the ministry.The MEA said India viewed attacks on commercial shipping and seafarers with “grave concern” and called for dialogue and diplomacy to end ongoing conflicts.In September, India and Liberia also launched a 25-nation “Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers” at the UN General Assembly to work towards the safety and security of merchant crews and commercial shipping against targeted attacks, according to the MEA.