Over 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil spill into Black Sea: Expert details Russian tanker accident

An accident involving Russian tankers in the Kerch Strait, caused by negligence on the part of the shipping company's management, has resulted in the spill of over 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil into the Black Sea, significantly impacting the local microflora despite experts ruling out a regional ecological catastrophe.

Yevhen Khlobystov, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, and Coordinator of the Ecology and Economics Working Group of the International Committee of the Crimean Tatars, said this in comments to Ukrinform.

"More than 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil spilled into the Black Sea due to damage sustained by the hulls of two tankers from heavy waves. These tankers, essentially river vessels, should not have entered the Kerch Bay during the winter, when storms and winds are most severe. Only one of the vessels was designed for river-sea operations, and even then, only under favorable weather conditions," he said.

The expert explained that the Soviet tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, were built 50 years ago at a shipyard in Volgograd, Russia, and are no longer suitable for safe operation.

"Their breakdown was entirely predictable. This accident occurred due to the negligence of the shipping company's management," he said.

Khlobystov noted that while the spill is unlikely to cause a regional environmental disaster, the timing of the accident played a crucial role. Had it occurred during the summer, the consequences could have been far more severe.

"The microflora will inevitably be affected, as it will be covered with a layer of fuel oil. However, this is unlikely to result in a serious regional catastrophe. Paradoxically, winter conditions may limit the damage. The fuel oil will sink to the bottom and spread in a thin layer due to strong currents. While it will gradually disperse into the Black Sea, the properties of fuel oil make it unlikely to cause significant environmental problems, as most of it will remain in the bottom layer," the expert said.

On December 15, the two Russian tankers began sinking off the coast of the Kerch Strait during a strong storm. One of the vessels was reportedly cut nearly in half by the force of the waves.

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