The owner of a sunken tanker was fined for illegal transportation of dangerous goods

The owner of one of the tankers that crashed in the Kerch Strait on December 15 is the company Kama Shipping, which previously had problems due to non-compliance with maritime legislation, Izvestia found out.

Breaking storm: two tankers in distress off the coast of Kerch

The powerful elements snapped both vessels in half

As follows from the court decision, with which the edition got acquainted, in 2019 the firm was fined 400 thousand rubles for the fact that in the period from May 1 to July 23, 2019 it carried out the transportation of dangerous goods "without a special permit for the right <...> transportation by sea of dangerous goods".

The vessel Volgoneft-212 was built in 1969. "Kama Shipping" began using it in 2014, follows from information on the Russianships portal.

The owner of another wrecked tanker "Volgoneft-239" - the company "Volgatransneft" in 2018 was on the verge of bankruptcy, but it managed to stop this process and restore its activities, "Izvestia" found out. At the same time in 2023, the company again showed a loss of 61 million rubles.

In addition, the Volgoneft-239 currently has "suspended documents," according to the website of the Russian Classification Society.

"The tanker Volgoneft-239 should not have left the port at all, as the validity of documents for it has been suspended," Igor Kovalchuk, deputy chairman of the Russian Professional Union of Seafarers, explained to Izvestia.

The tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 crashed in the Kerch Strait on December 15. As a result of the rescue operation it was possible to evacuate both crews - 27 people. One sailor from the vessel "Volgoneft-212" was killed, said the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Both tankers were tested for suitability for transportation of dangerous goods in July this year, the IC reported.

Read more in the exclusive material "Izvestia":

Storm bias: what could have led to the tragedy in the Kerch Strait