The incident breaks a one month lull in Ukrainian strikes against commercial shipping in the Black Sea. In September, naval drones hit the offshore support vessel Nefrit on September 3, and an oil depot near Sochi's airport caught fire on September 4 and 7. Recent similar drone strikes also sank the Turkish grain carrier Royad Mammadov and targeted the Alfa Watan near the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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Russia Confirms Drone Attack on Aframax Rio Ends Merchant Ship Pause
War14 days ago
The 23 members of the crew on the Liberian flagged oil tanker Aframax Rio were rescued without casualties after an unmanned vessel attacked the ship off the coast of Sochi. The vessel caught fire and leaked oil into the Black Sea on October 6, sending a plume of black smoke visible across the city. The tanker was reportedly almost fully loaded with crude oil from Novorossiysk bound for India, with monitors estimating the cargo at 760,000 barrels valued at approximately $70 million.
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