Russian Oil Tanker Spills 2,000 Metric Tons of Fuel Oil
On Sunday, November 11, 2,000 metric tons of fuel oil spilled into the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. The spill occurred when the 1978-built, Russian oil tanker Volganeft-139 split in two during a severe storm in the area. The 13 members of the tanker's crew, who drifted on the vessel's stern section for hours, were all eventually rescued by Russian Emergency Ministry officials.
Although the tanker, which had left the Port of Azov, Russia carrying 4,000 metric tons of fuel oil, had anchored outside Kerch, Ukraine to wait for the storm to pass, very high waves caused a split in the ship. The storm also wreaked havoc on many other vessels. According to RIA Novosti, the official Russian news agency, "The November 11 storm in the Kerch Strait [also] killed at least six sailors [and] sank four ships." When MarEx went online, 15 sailors were still missing. Moreover, some of these sunken vessels had sulfur on board -- a total of around 7,000 metric tons combined.
Cleanup crews from many different agencies began to mobilize soon after the oil spill was reported. However, the severe weather kept activities at a minimum until Wednesday, November 14. According to RIA Novosti, the Russian Weather Service tested the Kerch Strait and found 2.5 milligrams of oil per liter of water, which is "fifty times above [the] maximum acceptable levels." Reportedly, about 30,000 birds and 9,000 fish have already been killed by the pollution. Additionally, those numbers are expected to grow as fuel oil is one of the most difficult substances to clean and can last for up to 6 months in water. However, Russian officials have been using absorbents -- 10 metric tons were expected to be delivered by Wednesday, November 14 -- to clean the area. Apparently, when MarEx went online, 870 metric tons of waste had already been collected in the Port Kavkaz area.
The Ukrainian Government is also participating in the cleanup efforts. On the day of the disaster, President Victor Yushchenko asked Prime Minister Victor Yanukovych to "take urgent measures to tackle the aftermath" of the storm. A Ukrainian Government press release describes some the actions taken by the country since the president's request: "A consolidated military unit of a mechanized battalion of the Coast Defense separate brigade of the Ukrainian Naval Forces was sent to the Tuzla Spit to mitigate the consequences of the Volga-Neft-139 tanker wreck. Furthermore, mobile groups were established in all units of the Ukrainian Coast Defense able to move to particular areas and provide help for Crimean residents. Ukrainian rescue teams has been keeping on searching for 15 missing sailors of the Georgian dry cargo ship 'Khash-Izmail' and 5 seamen of the Russian dry cargo ship 'Nakhichevan.'"
Regarding the oil pollution, a November 15 Ukrainian press release states, "Experts do not rule out progressive ecological aftereffects of the accident." In fact, on Thursday, November 15, RIA Novosti reported that the Russian Weather Service had warned that the oil slick from the spill may reach the Azov Sea within 24 hours. Additionally, two days after the oil spill, and perhaps partially because of it, the Ukrainian Interdistrict Environmental Prosecutor's Office instituted "criminal proceedings upon sea pollution."
See photos of the oil spill here.