Putin: little is being done to minimize damage from fuel oil spill in the Black Sea

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with members of the government on Thursday, January 9, that the relevant authorities are currently not doing enough to minimize the damage caused by the spillage of oil products after the accident with tankers in the Black Sea.

"According to the information I receive, I conclude that everything that is being done to minimize the damage is clearly insufficient so far," the head of state said.

The Russian leader asked the head of the Emergencies Ministry, Alexander Kurenkov, for a report on the liquidation of the oil spill in the Kerch Strait. He said that rescuers had examined more than 1.5 square kilometers of water area and collected 25 tons of oily liquid.

At the same time Putin thanked volunteers for their help in eliminating the consequences of the oil spill in the Kerch Strait.

He also instructed to create a headquarters at the site of the disaster under the leadership of representatives of ministries and agencies, pointing out the presence of technical, financial and technological problems.

Water shocks: the Emergency Situations Ministry warned of the threat of continued fuel oil leakage in the Black Sea

Liquidation of the consequences of the oil spill will go on all New Year's vacations

Tankers "Volgoneft-212" and "Volgoneft-239" due to bad weather crashed in the Kerch Strait on December 15, 2024. The incident resulted in a spill of oil products. 27 people were evacuated from both vessels, one person died. On Putin's instructions, a working group was set up to coordinate work to eliminate the consequences of the emergency.

On January 2, the press service of the Russian Ministry of Transport said that 2.4 thousand tons of oil products had fallen into the Black Sea after the tanker crash.

Later, on January 3, in Sevastopol at the entrance to Balaklava Bay found an oil slick, it was reported about the risk of advancement of fuel oil after the crash, which is fixed to the north along the Crimean coast. As part of the work of the operational headquarters organized "breakdown of the territory" to clean up traces of oil products. On the same day in Sevastopol declared an emergency situation regime (emergency situation) of regional character.

In addition, on January 5, oil slicks were found off the coast of Anapa, in the area of Kapsel Bay in Crimea, and later off the coast of the resort city of Yevpatoria.