Moscow: A Liberia-flagged vessel carrying oil, with a crew of 23 Indian nationals, came under attack by drone boats off Russia’s Black Sea coast, Russian authorities said.
“The crew has been saved and evacuated to shore,” a spokesman for the Russian transport ministry told state-run TASS news agency.
The Aframax Rio tanker came under attack on Tuesday by unmanned surface vessels (USVs), and open fire is raging in the Black Sea waters, the Russian transport ministry said.
The ministry said the vessel’s all Indian crew of 23 was saved and none was hurt according to preliminary data.
The incident took place near Sochi, Russia’s popular resort city on the Black Sea coast.
Russia’s Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin held a headquarters meeting on eliminating the consequences of the attack on the tanker Aframax Rio off the Black Sea coast.
According to the report, the fire was so intense that firefighting could not begin initially.
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 precautionary measure, 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 critical global trade choke point facing severe disruption due to escalating attacks on commercial shipping and port infrastructure from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The attack comes two days after at least two people were killed and some crew members, including one Indian, were injured after 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 has 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.
