Shadow Fleet Tanker Reportedly Ablaze Near Russian Port City of Sochi

A ship was reported burning in the Black Sea near Sochi on October 6, with videos showing flames and thick smoke. Russian independent media, citing local Telegram channels, said the vessel might be the Liberia-flagged tanker Aframax Rea, which appeared on Ukraine’s sanctions list as part of Russia’s shadow fleet. The ship’s last recorded position was near the Russia-Georgia border. Reports suggested a possible naval-drone attack, but Russian authorities had not commented, and the vessel’s identity and cause of the fire remained unconfirmed.