ENVIRONMENT – An oil tanker of which only a small part can be seen on the surface, and black liquid everywhere around it. This Sunday, December 15, two Russian tankers were damaged in the Black Sea, near annexed Crimea, following a storm. Rescue operations have been launched by the Russian authorities to help the crew of these two ships while a significant part of the fuel has already been released at sea.
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“Due to a storm in the Black Sea, two tankers, the Volgoneft-212 and the Volgoneft-239, suffered an accident”indicated the Russian Federal Agency for River and Maritime Transport (Rosmorretchflot). Videos published by Russian media show one of the ends of the Volgoneft 212 partly engulfed in rough water and floating vertically.
In a press release on Telegram, it specifies that the disaster resulted in “ a spill of petroleum products ». « A rescue operation was organized, two tugs and two helicopters were sent to the tankers”adds the agency. Both boats are in the Kerch Strait, which connects Russia to Ukrainian Crimea annexed by Moscow.
The ship Volgoneft-212, Russian-flagged, built in 1969 and badly damaged, is believed to have carried thousands of tons of oil, with a total capacity of around 4,000 tons, says SkyNews. The Volgoneft 239, with a length of 132 meters, was built in 1973 and has a loading capacity of approximately 4,200 tonnes of petroleum products.
A strategic strait
On Telegram, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said one crew member of the Volgoneft 212 had died and 12 more of its sailors had been evacuated. According to this same source, this ship was “ damaged and stranded »while the other, which has a crew of 14 people, was “ set adrift ».
The Kerch Strait is a strategic area and an important global shipping route, which provides passage from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. It has also become a major issue in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia since the annexation of Crimea by Vladimir Putin. In 2016 Ukraine accused Moscow before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), based in The Hague, of deliberately obstructing access to the Sea of Azov, as RFI recalls, which Russia has repeatedly denied. times.
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