Smoke pours from the Palflot 2 tanker in the Caspian Sea, April 23, 2016. Photo: RT
A Russian oil tanker caught fire in the Caspian Sea on Saturday killing one crew member.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations in Azerbaijan confirmed the incident aboard the Russian-flagged Palflot-2 tanker as the vessel was underway to Alaja Port, Turkmenistan from Azerbaijan. The ship was approximately 70 miles from the Azerbaijan coast in the Caspian Sea.
The ministry said ten of the eleven crew members on board have been rescued. One crew member, identified as the mechanic, was killed in the incident.
Some video of the incident shows the tanker on fire with black smoke pouring from the vessel as crews worked to extinguish the fire.
As of Monday the fire had been extinguished and the tanker was under tow to the Baku Deep Water Jacket Factory in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Here’s some more video from the Ministry of Emergency Situations:
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February 24, 2026
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