Ukraine to Prosecute Russian Captain for Causing Kerch Oil Spill
The Prosecutor General of Ukraine has filed papers in court seeking to hold a Russian sea captain responsible for oil pollution resulting from the loss of a vessel in the Kerch Strait in December 2024. It is the latest in a series of efforts launched by Ukraine attempting to prosecute mariners for their role in the incidents or for operating vessels transporting grain and other materials in the Russian-occupied regions.
According to the reports, Ukraine is charging the captain with spilling 1,500 tons of fuel as part of a larger oil leak from a tanker that it says was in Ukrainian waters. They did not specify the name of the tanker or the captain, but it relates to the two Russian river sea tankers lost in December 2024 in the Kerch Strait. Ukraine in the court papers is reportedly estimating the damages at $480 million.
“The suspect, contrary to the usual seafaring requirements, did not take into account the weather conditions in the waters of the Azov and Black Seas, as well as in the Kerch Strait, which led to the accident," the prosecutor charges. They said the vessel was transporting 4,000 tonnes of M-100 fuel from Volgograd to Kavkaz with the accusation the fuel was to be transferred to an ocean-going shadow fleet tanker.
The river sea tanker Volgoneft 212 sank in a wintertime storm in December 2024 transporting 4,300 tonnes of oil. A second tanker of the same operator, Volgoneft 239, ran aground around the same time in the area near the Kerch bridge.
Ukraine reported that oil was drifting ashore at various points in the Black Sea prompting a large-scale cleanup in the winter after the incident. Environmentalists warned it would be more difficult to clean up because of winter storms.
In the past, Ukraine has detained and sought to prosecute crews for entering the ports of occupied Crimea and transporting grain or other materials that it alleges were stolen from Ukraine. In the summer of 2024, they seized a cargo ship named Usko Mfu registered in Cameroon while it was sailing near the port of Reni on the Danube. The courts ordered the vessel seized and last fall Ukraine reported it was prosecuting the ship’s officers for entering Sevastopol. In April 2025, Ukraine reported seizing another cargo vessel they accursed of looting grain from Crimea.
In the current case, it is unclear if the prosecutor named a specific individual. Clearly, the captain would have been charged in absentia and it is unclear if they are also attempting to file charges against the owner of the Volgoneft tankers.