Pumping of fuel from parts of tankers that sank in Black Sea in 2024 completed - Russian govt
KRASNODAR. Aug 21 (Interfax) - The pumping of fuel oil from parts of the tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 that sank after wrecking in the Kerch Strait in December 2024 has been completed, the Russian government press service said.
Russian Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov held a meeting of the government commission on dealing with the aftermath of emergencies in the Kerch Strait on Friday, the press service said in a statement.
"The government commission continues coordinating the efforts to deal with the aftermath of the petroleum products spill caused by the tankers' wrecking. The pumping of fuel oil from the sunken parts of the tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 has been completed," the statement said.
The results of the work have been confirmed by a special commission comprising representatives of the Emergency Situations Ministry, the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources (Rosprirodnadzor) and the Marine Rescue Service.
Besides, the filling of the beach territories affected by the emergency has been completed. One hundred and eleven Anapa beaches have received approval documents from the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor).
The monitoring of the waters of the Black Sea and the coasts of the Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Crimea continues. No petroleum products washing ashore on the coastline have been registered.
The group of forces and resources involved in the efforts to deal with the emergency aftermath comprises 758 people and 187 pieces of equipment.
The Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239 tankers carrying fuel oil wrecked in the Kerch Strait on December 15, 2024 causing a fuel leak. According to the Russian Transport Ministry, four tanks with petroleum products were damaged, and about 2,400 tonnes of fuel oil spilled into the sea.
The Krasnodar Territory, Crimea and Sevastopol declared an emergency. A federal emergency is also in effect.
The commissions of the Federal Service for Supervision of Transport (Rostransnadzor), the Russian Transport Ministry and Rosmorrechflot established that the main causes of the crash include non-observance by the captains of the vessels and owners of seasonal navigation restrictions in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. Besides, the crews of the vessels were not staffed with qualified staff in accordance with the Transport Ministry regulations.
The Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources estimated the damage from the fuel spill in the Kerch Strait at almost 85 billion rubles and brought the claims against Volgatransneft (35.483 billion rubles) and Kama Shipping (49.46 billion rubles).
