New fuel oil pollution from Russian tankers found on coast of Odesa region. PHOTOS
New areas of fuel oil contamination were discovered on the coast of the Odesa region, near the village of Mykolaiivka in the Serhiivka district of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district, following the Russian tanker accident.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by Ivan Rusev, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Head of the Research Department of the Tuzly Estuaries National Nature Park.
"In the area of Mykolaiivka village of Serhiyivka community outside the national park, yesterday, the national park workers found areas with fuel oil, which, unfortunately, no one is collecting yet," he said.
According to him, separate spots of fuel oil of small fractions were found on the territory of the national park in the area of the Lebedivka recreational complex from 0 to 2 km of sandy embankment. They were collected by park employees and will be submitted for examination.
We also inspected a section of the coast near the Dzhantshei Estuary on the border with the Danube Biosphere Reserve, which is located within the Liman Territorial Community. There is still a significant amount of fuel oil on the sandy embankment.
"In recent days, there have been no strong winds from the south-east-south, so the drifting fractions of fuel oil are still waiting for their time in the sea to be released onto the coast. During the survey of the coastline in the national park, we found the first possible signs of the Black Sea bioindicators' reaction to pollution," the scientist added.
Ecologists are continuing their surveys, research, and observations, and will report back soon.
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.
