The damaged Aframax tanker Rio was brought to Novorossiysk after a fire in the Black Sea
Kyiv • UNN
The tanker remains afloat after the fire near Sochi, but has sustained significant damage and is listing to starboard. Oil pollution was recorded off the coast.
The Aframax Rio tanker, which caught fire off the coast of Sochi on October 6, has been delivered to the port of Novorossiysk. The vessel has sustained serious damage and is listing to starboard, while booms have been installed around it to contain a possible oil spill. ASTRA reports this, according to UNN.
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Ecologist Georgiy Kavanosyan refuted reports that the tanker had sunk. According to him, the vessel remains afloat and is located near the oil berth.
The released footage shows the tanker's burned-out superstructure and containment booms around it. Such structures are used to prevent oil products from spreading in the water.
Extensive marine pollution discovered off Russia's coast
On October 8, Greenpeace reported an oil slick covering approximately 25 sq. km that formed after the attack on the Aframax Rio. Later, satellite images confirmed the presence of extensive pollution between Arkhipo-Osipovka and Novorossiysk.
On October 13, a heightened state of readiness was introduced in Gelendzhik and Novorossiysk due to the threat of an oil-products spill. The following day, the Krasnodar Krai authorities acknowledged the appearance of oil discharges along the coast, but denied their connection to the damaged tanker.
The Aframax Rio sailed under the Liberian flag and is capable of carrying up to 100,000 tonnes of oil. After the fire on October 6, eyewitnesses posted videos of the sea on fire, while local authorities restricted access to the beaches.
Initially, Russian services denied pollution of the Black Sea, but later swimming was prohibited in certain sections of the coast.