17:00, 8 November 2026

The remaining oil on the Aframax Rio tanker has been seized due to non-payment for the work of the Maritime Rescue Service.

The Arbitration Court of the Krasnodar Territory seized the remaining oil on the Aframax Rio tanker worth 239.6 million rubles. The Maritime Rescue Service is demanding over 750 million through the court for conducting emergency rescue operations.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on the evening of October 6, a fire broke out on the Aframax Rio oil tanker in the Black Sea near Sochi, after which beaches in Sirius were closed, and access to the embankments and beaches in Sochi was restricted. On October 7, the Ministry of Transport confirmed that the fire started after an attack by unmanned boats. Subsequently, authorities reported that no sea pollution was recorded after the fire on the Aframax Rio. On October 14, emissions of oil products were discovered on the shore in Novorossiysk, where the tanker was towed, and authorities called them "insignificant." The captain of the Novorossiysk port ordered the owner of the Aframax Rio tanker to ensure the safety of the vessel, as the anchorage is unsafe during a storm, and to monitor the list of the vessel.

On October 16, the administration of Novorossiysk reported the elimination of oil product emissions on the beaches of Abrau-Dyurso and Myskhako. Meanwhile, on October 18, rescuers, officials, and local residents continued to clean the coastline in the area of Abrau-Dyurso. After the storm on the beach in Myskhako, buried bags of fuel oil were uncovered under the pebbles, reported an eco-activist. Ecologist Yevgeny Vitishko pointed out that the same fate could befall the waste collected on the coast of Anapa, Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, and the Tuapse district, and called on supervisory authorities to ensure the completion of the shoreline cleanup. Collecting pollution is only half the job, and the cleanliness of the coast should not rely solely on volunteers, volunteers emphasized, urging timely removal of what has been collected on the shore.

The Arbitration Court of the Krasnodar Territory seized the remaining oil on the Aframax Rio tanker (Aframax Rio) flying the flag of Liberia, which was attacked by unmanned boats (UB) in October 2026 off the coast of Sochi, TASS reported, citing the court's ruling to secure property interests.

The seizure was placed on a cargo of crude oil of the Siberian Light grade, owned by Crest Oil Trading L.L.C. (UAE), within the amount of 239.6 million rubles. The basis for the court appeal was non-payment of the salvage reward. The Federal State Budgetary Institution Maritime Rescue Service intends to receive almost 754 million rubles for conducting emergency rescue operations on the tanker and with the cargo.

Before the accident, the tanker had about 101.2 thousand tons of crude oil on board. During the emergency unloading, as of October 22, about 40.4 thousand tons were transferred to the receiving vessel Daphne V. Approximately 53.6 thousand tons of oil remained on board the Aframax Rio. The tanker sustained through damage to ballast tank No. 4 on the starboard side and cargo tank No. 6 on the starboard side. The vessel is at the berth of the "Sheskharis" oil harbor in the port of Novorossiysk without a crew, reports "Neftegaz.ru".

Translated automatically via OpenAI from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/428168