Russia Starts Inspections of River-Sea Tankers After Kerch Strait Wrecks

 

The Russian Ministry of Transportation confirmed that following the orders of Vladimir Putin it has commenced a comprehensive inspection program of the shipping companies operating the river-sea fleet of tankers and their vessels. The program comes after widespread condemnation after the loss of the two tankers from the fleet in December and a long history of problems with the vessels.

 “Rostransnadzor (the federal service for the supervision of transportation) will assess the compliance of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs with mandatory requirements for the transport of oil and oil products,” the ministry said in its official notice. “The inspection will affect about 500 sea and inland waterway transport companies operating tankers.”

Russian media is quoting Viktor Basargin who heads the service as saying the inspections are already underway. He told reporters they would complete the inspections by April before the start of the 2025 navigation season. The Russian Ministry of Transport announced that it is also conducting a comprehensive audit of the regulatory framework governing the transportation of oil and oil products by sea and inland waterway transport.

The vessels, the Volgoneft river-sea class, dates back to the Soviet-era built in the 1960s and 1970s for operations on the Volga and Black Sea. Reports indicate that Soviet naval architects used a mix of standard plate and thinner, higher-strength steel in the vessels’ construction. The vessels are reportedly prone to serious cracking which lead to an overhaul of the fleet in the 2010s, but the vessels are now over 50 years old and showing signs of wear-and-tear.

While there has been a history of incidents with the vessels, Russian officials admitted the December 2024 loss of the Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 was one of the worst environmental disasters in recent years. Official reports indicate about 2,400 tonnes of fuel oil was spilled while unconfirmed reports said it could have been as much as 4,300 tonnes. The oil spill stretched nearly 10 miles in some locations reaching beyond the Kerch Strait into the Sea of Azov and Black Sea, with reports of oil as far west as the region around Odesa. Ukraine says over 700 seabirds and 61 dolphins were contaminated with the oil. 

Ukraine’s Ministry of Environmental Protection said the spill was a topic of discussion at a recent IMO sub-committee meeting on pollution prevention and responses. They allege there were accusations of negligence and said the vessels were “unfit for their purpose.”

Last week, Russian officials contended that the cleanup of the spill from Volgoneft-239 was largely complete.