Putin calls fuel oil spill in the Black Sea an environmental disaster

The fuel oil spill in the Black Sea and on its shores after the wreck of the tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 is an environmental disaster. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 19 during the "Results of the Year".

"This is, of course, an environmental trouble. It is absolutely obvious. Law enforcement agencies are assessing the actions of the ship captains. They reported to me that, in their opinion, the ship captains violated the relevant rules - they did not leave in time to take shelter," Putin said, responding to a video message from a resident of the Krasnodar region.

He added that the two tankers that crashed had anchored where they should not have done so. At the same time, those ships that went to shelters avoided the dangers of the storm.

Putin pointed out that it is still difficult to clear the coast because of bad weather, but by December 21 it should subside and then it will be necessary to establish work. The President said that about 40% of the fuel has leaked out of the tankers and a number of agencies, such as the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Transport, are working on cleaning it up. The head of state indicated that the cleanup work should be coordinated and he asked for a working group to be set up.

Putin said that now, firstly, it is necessary to fence off the area so that the fuel oil stain does not spread, and secondly, to remove the fuel that is spreading along the shore. In case of need, there is a possibility to deploy an additional grouping of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the disaster zone.

In addition, around May, when the water warms up, the fuel oil will begin to rise to the surface and we need to prepare to collect it, for example, to lift tankers and prepare a project to clean up the fuel. Putin expects that time will not be lost for this work.

Clean up the slicks: how the oil spill in the Black and Azov Seas is being cleaned up

The cleanup is being carried out by EMERCOM staff and volunteers

On December 15, the tankers Volgoneft-212 andVolgoneft-239suffered a disaster in the Kerch Strait due to bad weather. As a result, there was a spill of oil products.

The first vessel evacuated 13 people: one of them died, 11 were injured. All 14 crew members were evacuated from the tanker Volgoneft-239 on Monday. Two criminal cases were opened over the incident, one of which was reclassified as more serious because of the death of a sailor.

Governor of the Krasnodar region Veniamin Kondratiev said that after the oil spill in four settlements of the Kuban introduced a high alert mode. Later, on December 17, he specified that after the accident with two tankers fuel oil was carried ashore for dozens of kilometers, two municipalities of the region introduced a state of emergency. Specialists have determined the algorithm of cleaning works.

The direct line with Vladimir Putin in 2024 is combined with a press conference for the media. The format called "Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin" allows the President to convey his position not only on citizens' issues, but also on the state and world agenda, which is often asked by journalists.

Representatives of Western media and foreign journalists accredited in Russia have also received invitations to the events.

The latest news about the "Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin - 2024" - in the Izvestia story.