Oil tanker burns off coast of Sochi, blanketing the city in black smoke

A vessel caught fire in the Black Sea near Sochi, sending black smoke over the city and prompting beach closures in the Sirius federal territory. Local Telegram channels identified the ship as the Liberian-flagged tanker Rio, en route from Novorossiysk to India, and noted it appears on Ukraine's shadow fleet sanctions list though not on EU or allied lists.

Social media accounts speculated the tanker may have been struck by naval drones while in international waters, though regional authorities have offered no official cause. Officials instead focused on air and water monitoring and asked residents to stay indoors.

The cause remains unknown, the attacker if any remains unnamed, and the region's hydrometeorological agency has been handed the job of watching smoke drift over a resort city.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.