Greenpeace: 25-Square-Kilometer Oil Slick Forms in Black Sea After Tanker Attack Near Sochi
Greenpeace says satellite images show an oil slick of about 25 square kilometers in the Black Sea after naval drones attacked a tanker off Sochi. Russian officials had earlier said there was no pollution.
An oil slick of roughly 25 square kilometers (10 square miles) has formed in the Black Sea following an attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Sochi, according to Greenpeace, which analyzed satellite imagery.
The attack took place on October 6 and set off a major fire. Satellite images showed that on the afternoon of October 7 the vessel was near Lazarevskoye, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from where the blaze occurred. Environmentalists identified a trail of petroleum products covering around eight square kilometers (three square miles) of the surface.
By midday on October 8, the tanker had passed Tuapse. A satellite image from that time showed a slick of 25 square kilometers, Greenpeace said.
Statements from the Russian side
Russia's Transport Ministry earlier said uncrewed boats attacked the Liberian-flagged tanker off Sochi. All 23 crew members were evacuated. Early reports said the vessel, Aframax Rio, was carrying crude oil from Novorossiysk to India.
On the morning of October 7, the consumer protection and public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor stated that there was no pollution in the Black Sea after the fire. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said efforts to deal with the aftermath were going well. Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin said no pollution from the oil cargo had been detected in the sea so far, although swimming restrictions have been introduced at the city's beaches.
