14 new contaminated fuel oil leakage sites in Black Sea recorded
14 new fuel oil emission sites were discovered in the Black Sea after the accident of two Russian tankers in the Kerch Strait.
This is reported by Krym Realii with reference to the press service of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, Censor.NET informs.
"Cases of point emissions of petroleum product fractions were recorded at 14 work sites," the report says.
As noted, rescuers of the temporarily occupied Crimea have already collected 713 tons of contaminated soil and sand, and cleaned 213 km of the coast. In Sevastopol, 665 tons of pollution were removed.
The accident of Russian tankers
On 15 December, two Russian oil tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, began to sink near the coast in the Kerch Strait. The accident was caused by a severe storm. One of the tankers was cut almost in half by the waves.
On 21 December, a state of emergency was declared in Kerch because of fuel oil from Russian tankers that had been shipwrecked in the Kerch Strait.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Environment noted that fuel oil could reach the Sea of Azov by 27-29 December. Protected areas, including the Opuk Nature Reserve and the Cape Takil Landscape Park, are under threat.
On 27 December, it became known that Russian President Vladimir Putin had declared a state of emergency of federal significance due to a fuel oil spill in the Black Sea after two tankers crashed.
On 4 January 2025, a state of emergency of regional significance was declared in Sevastopol in the occupied Crimea due to fuel oil spills found on the shore.
On the morning of 11 January, it became known that at least 60 dolphins had died as a result of a fuel oil spill in the Black Sea.
On 13 January, a concentrated oil slick of 300 square kilometers was spotted in the Sea of Azov in the Kerch Strait, stretching for almost 100 kilometers along the Bilosaray Bay.
On 24 January, the first signs of contamination by Russian fuel oil from tankers were found on beaches in the Odesa region. The fuel oil stains were found a few meters from the coastline.
On the same day, the Sevastopol "authorities" introduced a "federal emergency" due to the effects of fuel oil emissions after the oil tanker accident in the Kerch Strait.
