The two ships that sank on December 15 were carrying 9,200 tonnes of fuel oil, around 40% of which may have spilled into the sea.
The Russian authorities reported this Saturday, December 28, a situation “really critical” because of the oil spill caused by the mid-December sinking of oil tankers between Russia and annexed Crimea, which declared a state of emergency. “Unfortunately, negative consequences in terms of ecology are inevitable,” warned Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov, quoted by Russian news agencies.
The latter called on government authorities to “maximum efforts” to deal with the consequences of the spill of thousands of tonnes of fuel oil, particularly on the beaches of south-west Russia. “Unfortunately, it is impossible to calculate the extent of the damage caused to the environment at the moment, but specialists regularly carry out this work,” added Mr. Peskov.
The leader of Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed in 2014 by Russia, Sergei Aksionov, announced on Telegram that he had declared a state of emergency “due to the spill of oil products in the Kerch Strait”, which connects the two territories.
Shipwreck during a storm in the Kerch Strait
The Russian Ministry of Transport sought to be reassuring, announcing this Saturday morning that “all areas of pollution identified in the aquatic area have been cleaned” and that“no repeated pollution was detected.” “The threat of a new fuel oil leak into the Black Sea from sunken tankers and their dumping on the shore persists,” however qualified the Minister of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kourenkov.
On December 15, two Russian tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, ran aground during a storm in the Kerch Strait. The ships were carrying 9,200 tonnes of fuel oil, around 40% of which may have spilled into the sea, according to Russian authorities.
Thousands of volunteers have mobilized to clean the beaches of southwest Russia, a tourist region which has seen its sand stained with sticky fuel oil. But, according to scientists, their equipment is not sufficient. President Vladimir Putin acknowledged last week that it was a “ecological disaster”, which could pollute up to 200,000 tonnes of soil.
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