The Liberian-flagged oil tanker AFRAMAX RIO is on fire off the coast of Sochi. The vessel is under Ukrainian sanctions as part of Russia’s shadow fleet.
This was reported by the Telegram channel Astra.
AFRAMAX RIO (IMO: 9273844) is a large crude oil tanker. It is not included on the sanctions lists of the EU or Ukraine’s allies, but was added to Ukraine’s sanctions list by a decision of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine dated February 12, 2026, along with another 90 vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet.
According to the National Security and Defence Council, the vessel is owned by RIO ENTERPRISES SA, a company registered in the Marshall Islands. Its operations and chartering have been handled through international operator Navig8 Group, based in Singapore, and Greek ship management companies, including Hellenic Tankers Co Ltd.
The AFRAMAX RIO can carry between 95,000 and 100,000 tonnes of oil, equivalent to around 700,000–750,000 barrels.
According to MarineTraffic, the tanker departed the port of Tuzla, Türkiye, on September 11, 2026, heading for Constanța, Romania.
The vessel made an intermediate anchorage stop in Samsun, Türkiye, departing on September 19 and arriving in Constanța on September 22.
Calls at Russian Black Sea ports are not shown on the website. The vessel’s last recorded position was 23 hours ago, when the tanker was approximately 15 kilometres from Sochi.
According to open-source data, the tanker repeatedly transported oil from Russian ports between 2024 and 2026, most frequently from Ust-Luga, but also from Novorossiysk and Taman. Its listed destinations included India, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
