CONSPIRACY: Ships, islands, and people are disappearing in the Azov Sea due to quicksand on the seabed

Videos are being shared online, claiming that ships, people, and islands are disappearing massively in the Azov Sea. As an example, they cite a situation in which a yacht was allegedly washed ashore, from which 10 people disappeared. Their bodies were never found. The video also mentions whirlpools that supposedly suck in ships and the seabed. It also states that the water is filled with jellyfish that are not typical for this area.

These are conspiracy claims. The yacht videos were filmed in the USA, not in Ukraine. The clips about water vortices and quicksand were also not made in the Azov Sea. The story about the mass appearance of jellyfish is not supernatural — it is the result of increased salinity in the Azov Sea. 

The missing yacht

As an example of unusual events in the Azov Sea, they mention a story in which a yacht was allegedly washed ashore after 10 people had been on board. They previously went sailing in a boat and disappeared at sea. Their bodies were never found.

Using reverse search in Google Lens, we found the original video of these yacht events. It was published on September 11, 2016.

In reality, the incident happened not in the Azov Sea, but in the state of Florida in the USA. According to police, the 63-year-old yacht owner, Thomas Baker, was intoxicated and tried to sail his yacht into Palm Beach Inlet but crashed into the shore and abandoned the vessel.

For the fake video, they used a report from West Palm Beach News and Weather — Florida News (WPBF) and mirrored it. They likely did this to complicate reverse searching.

Water vortices and quicksand

The whirlpool videos were also not filmed in the Azov Sea. In one of them, the background shows terrain that is not characteristic of this area. Moreover, the same video has already been circulated online, previously claimed to show the Sea of Japan.

There is no information in any reliable sources that the seabed of the Azov Sea consists of quicksand that causes strange natural phenomena. It is stated that the coastal part is covered with sand and shell deposits. In some areas, mud is a common occurrence. In the central part of the sea, clayey mud prevails among seabed sediments.

A person can get stuck in it, but not completely drown — the density of the mud and water is greater than that of the human body. A person cannot fully submerge in it; buoyant force will prevent this.

We found no verified publications describing cases of people getting stuck in the clayey mud of the Azov Sea.

Appearance of jellyfish

Another supposedly inexplicable supernatural phenomenon for the Azov Sea is the mass appearance of jellyfish. However, in reality, it has been observed since 2021, and scientists have a good understanding of its causes. The increase in jellyfish occurred due to rising water salinity and general climate change.

The Azov Sea is a small, shallow body of water that receives inflows from the Don and Kuban rivers. Rivers are essential for the ecosystem of any sea and have played a key role in shaping the biological productivity of the Azov Sea.

Previously, the salinity of the sea was approximately 10–12‰, but it has now increased to 14‰. This occurred due to the shallowing of rivers, a decrease in freshwater inflow, and pollution.

As a result, the natural balance in the sea has been disrupted, and many fish species that spawn in rivers have disappeared. Instead, species accustomed to saltier water have appeared, including jellyfish. They are attracted to the warm, organic-rich waters of the Azov.

Thus, the claims described in the video are merely conspiracy theories. The yacht story happened in the USA, not Ukraine, and has a completely different context. The water vortex videos were also not filmed in the Azov Sea, and its seabed is not made of quicksand. The mass appearance of jellyfish has a natural explanation: increased water salinity due to river shallowing and pollution.