Oil Spill Crisis: Emergency Declared As Black Sea Oil Spill In Russian Resort Town

The city has declared a state of emergency in an Apna resort town located off the coast of the Black Sea due to significant oil spilled into the waters following an accident where two damaged tankers are responsible. Such an accident during a recent severe storm caused wide-reaching environmental damage to the shore.

The Russian government states that the storm sank two oil tankers. One was split into two halves, while the other ran aground, suffering extensive damage. Tragically, one crew member succumbed to hypothermia, and 26 were rescued.

The local mayor’s office announced the emergency on Telegram, stating, “An operation to eliminate the consequences is underway.” The spill has contaminated at least 30 kilometers (19 miles) of beaches in Anapa, a town of 90,000 residents in the Krasnodar region, near the Crimean Peninsula. Four smaller towns have also declared emergencies as the oil continues to spread.

The regional minister for emergency situations, Sergei Shtrikov, confirmed the level of contamination by the spread of fuel along a coastline area described as extending over “tens of kilometers”.

Adding to the crisis, a third tanker issued a distress signal on Tuesday, though officials reported its hull remained intact and no spillage occurred. The aging tankers, both over 50 years old, were collectively carrying approximately 9,200 metric tons (62,000 barrels) of oil products. Experts fear the incident could become one of the most severe environmental disasters in the region in years.

Ukraine calls for international sanctions over negligence in Volgoneft tankers accident  Ukraine condemned the case and called for international sanctions against the Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239 tankers that caused the spill. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, criticized such aging vessels to be set adrift by nature in a storm, considering the disaster predictable.

“The accidents involving two rusty vessels in the Kerch Strait have caused another large-scale environmental catastrophe,” Podolyak stated. He underlined the devastating effect of the spill on the ecosystems of the Azov and Black Seas and suggested that earlier sanctions on Russia’s tanker fleet might have prevented the disaster.

Containment and mitigation efforts to contain the spill are underway, and regional authorities and emergency teams are cleaning up the areas affected.