Oil slick from Aframax Rio tanker fire off the coast of Sochi grows to 25 square kilometers, Greenpeace says

An environmental group, Greenpeace, has reported that an oil slick originating from an Aframax tanker caught fire off the coast of Sochi, Russia, has expanded significantly. The organization analyzed satellite images taken on October 7 and 8, revealing that the oil slick has grown to cover an area of 25 square kilometers. Initially, the vessel was located 13 kilometers from Lazarevskoye, roughly 50 kilometers northwest of where the fire started, according to Greenpeace.

Although the fire on the tanker had been extinguished by October 7 at noon Moscow time, a trail of petroleum products formed an oil slick approximately 8 square kilometers in size on the sea surface. A subsequent satellite image, taken around noon the following day, showed the tanker being towed northwest, and the oil slick had expanded to cover about 25 square kilometers.

Greenpeace expressed concern, stating that this situation is a result of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, as the country uses oil to fund its war efforts. They emphasized that oil now threatens both people inside the country and the environment within the Black Sea region. The Aframax Rio tanker, which flies under the Liberian flag and is owned by a company registered in the Marshall Islands, has visited Russian Black Sea ports before.

It was sanctioned by Ukraine in May 2026 and is believed to be part of Russia's "shadow fleet," a collection of older, poorly insured vessels used to transport Russian oil to circumvent international sanctions, allowing the Kremlin to maintain revenue during its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.