the essential
The oil spill affecting the Kerch Strait, between Russia and annexed Crimea, after the sinking of two Russian tankers in mid-December, continues to spread and has now reached the city of Sevastopol. The only possible method of decontamination is the collection of cakes washed up on the beach.
The oil spill that occurred in mid-December in the Kerch Strait (north-east of the Black Sea) after the sinking of two Russian tankers continues to extend south and has now reached Sevastopol. Here’s what we know about this oil accident.
No technology to eliminate slick
In mid-December, the Volgoneft-212 and the Volgoneft-239, two oil tankers, ran aground between Russia and annexed Crimea during a storm. Of the 9,200 tonnes of fuel oil contained in the ships, at least 26% could have leaked into the sea, according to a latest estimate by Russian authorities. A satellite image published and analyzed by the Roscosmos space agency on December 31 also shows a possible expanse of oil 3 kilometers south of Cape Meganom, in annexed Crimea.
Also read:
Sinking of a Russian cargo ship in the Mediterranean: the ship victim of a “terrorist attack”, according to its owner
This shipwreck is “the first accident in the world involving ‘heavy’ fuel oil of M100 quality”, declared the Russian service responsible for sea rescues. A type of fuel oil which “does not float on the surface” and for which “it does not “There is no proven technology in the world to eliminate it in water.” “This is why the main method is collection on the coast,” says the same source.
At least 30 cetaceans dead
According to a message from the Russian NGO “Delpha” published on Telegram, the oil slick caused the death of at least thirty cetaceans at sea, mainly porpoises. “We recorded 61 dead cetaceans, including 32 individuals who died after December 15, whose death is most likely linked to the oil spill,” lamented the Russian NGO “Delpha” on Telegram, citing “a high figure” and “ atypical”.
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized at the end of December that it was an “ecological disaster”.
Depollution hampered by the war in Ukraine
For three weeks, authorities and volunteers have organized a vast clean-up operation, but the situation continues to cause concern. More than 96,000 tonnes of contaminated sand have been removed from dozens of kilometers of beaches on the Russian coast. “More than 68 kilometers of coastline have been cleaned,” Russian authorities said on Sunday, January 5.
The Black Sea, “very shallow”, is more conducive to “temperature changes” with “freezing in winter and rapid warming in spring”. The situation therefore requires “prolonged monitoring”, confirms Iryna Babanina, of the British NGO Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS), specialist in the consequences of war on the environment.
Since 1992, it has been protected by the Bucharest Convention. The text provides for “cooperation in the fight against oil pollution”. But for the specialist who believes that “only satellite images can provide a more or less reliable overview”, “the deployment of special ships or planes is made impossible” by the war.
