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- Causes and consequences: 90% of bookings for New Year holidays in Anapa have been canceled
Causes and consequences: 90% of bookings for New Year holidays in Anapa have been canceled
The complete elimination of pollution on the Black Sea coast may take up to several years, environmentalists believe. On December 26, a federal level emergency regime was introduced in the Krasnodar region, reported the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. As the head of the agency Alexander Kurenkov noted, this measure will allow to attract additional measures and funds, including from the reserve fund of the government. Now, as representatives of the tourist market told "Izvestia", 90% of reservations for New Year holidays in Anapa have already been canceled. On whether there are risks for the summer season - 2025 in the Krasnodar region and who has already been held responsible for the crash of tankers - in the material "Izvestia".
From regional to federal
Emergency mode of federal character introduced on the situation in the Kerch Strait after a meeting of the Government Commission for the prevention and elimination of emergency situations and fire safety, which was held in Anapa. The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Alexander Kurenkov arrived in the city, which was most affected by the fuel oil spill after the tanker accident, to assess the situation. Together with the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov he checked the progress of liquidation of the coastline pollution in Anapa district.
Tankers "Volgoneft-212" and "Volgoneft-239" on December 15 crashed in the Kerch Strait. In Anapa after the release of oil products on the coast was introduced municipal emergency mode, and on December 25 in Kuban introduced emergency mode of the regional level. The day before, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the introduction of the federal emergency regime would depend on the recommendations of experts.
Tanker Volgoneft-239
"I propose to attribute the emergency caused by the wreck of the tanker in the Kerch Strait to an emergency of a federal nature and establish a federal level of response," said the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations at the meeting.-This will allow to attract additional forces and means of federal executive authorities and state corporations, as well as to provide the necessary financial assistance to the affected entities from the reserve fund of the Government of the Russian Federation".
According to Kurenkov's assessment, the frontline of work on pollution elimination is large: only 15% of the work has been done. According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, 220 kilometers of the Krasnodar region coastline are currently being surveyed: from the Chushka Spit to the Volna settlement and from Anapa's Vysoky Coast to the Myskhako settlement.
"In total, more than 23.5 thousand tons of contaminated sand and soil have been collected and removed. More than 4.3 thousand people and more than 400 units of equipment are working on the site", - reported in the department.
Head of the Krasnodar region Veniamin Kondratiev in his Telegram-channel reported on the collection of almost 35 thousand tons of contaminated sand, about 28 thousand tons were taken to landfills for temporary storage. According to preliminary estimates, this volume may increase to 200 thousand tons. On December 24, the Ministry of Transport gave a similar forecast assessment.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, 295 square kilometers of water area have been surveyed, more than 29 thousand "squares" of water area have been treated, 450 meters of booms have been installed. More than 10 thousand people and 360 units of equipment are involved in the work.
The day before, a diving vessel discovered the sunken bow of the Volgoneft-239 with the help of echo sounder. As soon as the weather allowed, specialists began its inspection, the Ministry of Transport said.
"Thestern part of the Volgoneft-239 is aground near Cape Panagia, 250 meters of booms have been erected around it to prevent the possible spread of oily waste, " the ministry said.
Due to the storm, bottom exploration and diving trips were temporarily suspended, they will resume as soon as the situation becomes safe for diving, the ministry said.
Predictions for the summer season of 2025
Liquidation of the consequences of the fuel oil leak may take several months or years, Igor Shkradyuk, coordinator of the program of greening the industry of the Wildlife Conservation Center, is sure. Roman Pukalov, director of environmental programs at the all-Russian public organization Green Patrol, agrees with him.
"It is difficult to forecast now. But there is a probability that Anapa urban district and Temryuksky district will be left without tourists in 2025, " he said.
However, Alexander Kurenkov noted during a working visit to Anapa that the summer beach season in Krasnodar Krai is "not in question".
Head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations Alexander Kurenkov
"The beach season is not under question. We will sort it out. There is no solid pollution. We will cope in the near future. On the sea side, work will be carried out to ensure that there are as few emissions as possible on the beaches' territory," the minister said.
Experts in the tourism industry interviewed by Izvestia said that the situation is ambiguous, but, in their opinion, it is quite likely that the Krasnodar Region will be able to receive fewer tourists in the summer, especially in the most affected areas. According to Alexan Mkrtchyan, vice-president of the Alliance of Travel Agencies, 80% of Anapa hotels have been affected.
- We have 90% of reservations canceled in Anapa for New Year holidays," he said. - After all, what is the main purpose of people to go to Anapa in winter? It is to breathe the sea air. Now it is impossible because of oil products evaporation along the entire coast.
That is why Alexan Mkrtchyan believes that the summer season of 2025 is on the verge of failure, also because of the shortsightedness of local hoteliers. In his opinion, they should introduce a reservation system without withholding funds in case of early booking, which is not in place yet.
- If such a system were introduced, tourists would start making prepayments for vacations as early as the end of February, hoping that the rescuers would manage to eliminate the fuel oil spill," he said.
According to Igor Shkradyuk, the measures taken by the authorities are not enough. In addition to collecting and removing fuel oil-contaminated soil from the shore, it is necessary to quickly prepare sites for disposal of fuel oil-containing waste with a capacity of 2-3 million cubic meters, to put equipment for cleaning sand from fuel oil, to identify places of its accumulation on the bottom, to clean and test biopreparations for the decomposition of fuel oil in the sea and on the shore.
- Most of this work can only be done by licensed organizations. The work should be ordered by state and municipal bodies," the ecologist added. - Voluntary donations, the budget of Anapa and the entire Krasnodar region will not be enough for this. We need federal funds and decisive actions of the authorities. Tens of billions of rubles will be needed to eliminate the consequences.
Why did they introduce the emergency regime of the federal scale?
The federal emergency regime was introduced because the pollution affected not only Krasnodar Krai, but also the Republic of Crimea, believes Roman Pukalov. According to the ecologist, the situation in Crimea today is not acute, but there is localized pollution of the coast.
In the emergency regime of a federal nature, payments to the victims are provided, the vice-president of the Association of lawyers for registration, liquidation, bankruptcy and judicial representation Vladimir Kuznetsov told "Izvestia".
- Victims of the consequences of the emergency situation can expect a payment of Br15 thousand, and Br75 thousand - in case of damage to essential property and Br150 thousand - in case of its destruction, - explained Vladimir Kuznetsov.
Also a payment in the amount of Br300 thousand or Br600 thousand is provided for relatives of those killed by the consequences of the emergency, and depending on the severity of health damage, Russians can receive a payment of Br300 thousand or Br600 thousand. rubles, the lawyer added.
In addition, the family of the deceased crew member of the Volgoneft-212 tanker will receive an insurance payment of 2 million rubles, according to the State Labor Inspectorate in Perm Krai.
- The investigation revealed violations of labor laws, which were expressed in the failure to conduct occupational safety training for the tanker crew and first aid training for the injured. Kama Shipping LLC was brought to administrative responsibility in the form of a fine for the revealed violations," said Pavel Bakhtagareev, Deputy Head of the State Labor Inspectorate in Perm Krai.
The Perm Transport Prosecutor's Office has started an inspection of this company.
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