Breaking storm: two tankers in distress off the coast of Kerch
On Sunday, December 15, a tanker with fuel oil "Volgoneft-212" and a vessel "Volgoneft-239" suffered a disaster in the Kerch Strait. As a result of the accident one person was killed. The cause of the disaster was unfavorable weather conditions. It is known that the waves cut the tankers in half, there is an operation to rescue the crew. More about what happened - in the material "Izvestia".
"Volgoneft-212" and "Volgoneft-239": what happened, the latest news
Oil tankers "Volgoneft-212" and "Volgoneft-239" December 15 suffered a disaster in the Kerch Strait. According to Rosmorrechflot, the crews of 13 and 14 people were on board, respectively. As a result of the accident, one person died, the entire crew of the tanker "Volgoneft-212" managed to evacuate. The operation to rescue the crew of "Volgoneft-239" was suspended in the evening due to bad weather, it is noted that the ship has everything necessary.
The evacuated sailors were hospitalized. According to the deputy chief doctor of the Anapa municipal hospital Elina Grigorieva, two people are in a serious condition, nine more - in a state of medium severity.
According to the press service of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, information about the tanker "Volgoneft-212", in distress in the Kerch Strait, was received this morning. In difficult weather conditions, with strong squally wind and sea waves up to seven points, the vessel ran aground, sustained damage and requested assistance.
An hour later, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that another tanker, Volgoneft-239, was damaged and in distress in the same area. Both vessels are carrying various oil products. It is known that the tanker "Volgoneft-212" was carrying about 4 thousand tons of fuel oil. As a result of the accident there was a spill of hazardous substances. A characteristic film can be seen on the surface of the water. At present there is no exact data on how much oil products could be in the water.
The Ministry added that rescuers and FGBU "Morspassluzhba" are already taking measures to eliminate the spillage of oil products.
In total, more than 50 people and 11 units of equipment are involved in the rescue operation and liquidation of the consequences of the incident. An operational headquarters has been set up in Rostov-on-Don to control the situation. A helicopter Mi-8 of the Russian Emercom and a rescue tugboat "Mercury" of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center arrived in the Kerch Strait area.
"In readiness to provide assistance there are units of the main department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Republic of Crimea: the State Inspectorate for small vessels, the task force of the 3rd fire and rescue squad (Kerch), employees of the special marine detachment of the Main Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Republic of Crimea", - noted in the department.
According to the source of Telegram-channel "112", the tanker "Volgoneft-212", which first gave a distress signal, is gradually going down. The vessel's crew has been evacuated by now. The second tanker, Volgoneft-239, ran aground near the port of Taman, Krasnodar Territory, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said. According to the agency, the vessel is 80 meters from the shore.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed to organize rescue operations in the Kerch Strait, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
According to the spokesman, Putin listened to reports from Emergencies Ministry head Alexander Kurenkov, Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Alexander Kozlov regarding the grounding of tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 in the Kerch Strait. The working group with the participation of cabinet members will be headed by Vitaly Savelyev. Shortly thereafter, Mikhail Mishustin reported on the creation of the commission.
Causes of the disaster with tankers off the coast of Kerch
The cause of the tragic disaster of tankers "Volgoneft-212" and "Volgoneft-239" was unfavorable weather conditions. Both tankers ran aground and powerful waves damaged them. According to preliminary data, the crews of the tankers in such conditions could not cope with the elements and could make mistakes in vessel management.
On the eve of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Crimea warned of a high probability of emergencies on December 15 and recommended to observe safety measures. According to the agency, wind gusts reach 17-22 m/s.
The work of the Kerch crossing was also suspended due to the weather conditions.
The Southern Transport Prosecutor's Office will check the implementation of the law in the field of navigation safety because of the incident.
Criminal cases have been opened on the fact of violation of rules of safety and operation of maritime transport, said Olga Postnova, senior assistant to the head of the main investigative directorate of the Investigative Committee for Crimea and Sevastopol.
The investigation will assess the actions of the crew in difficult weather conditions, as well as the shipowners on the condition and maintenance of the tankers.
As explained to "Izvestia" lawyer of the "Yurtsentr" collegium Andrey Spiridonov, we are talking about Art. 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
- In case there are two victims, part 3 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation implies criminal liability in the form of compulsory labor for up to five years or imprisonment for up to seven years," the lawyer pointed out. If the act was committed in a state of alcoholic intoxication, then criminal liability is provided for in part 4 of the article in the form of imprisonment for a term of 8-15 years.
After the confirmation of the death of a crew member of the "Volgoneft-212", one of the two criminal cases on the tanker wreck was reclassified to the more serious part of Part 2 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Violation of the rules and operation of maritime transport, causing the death of a person by negligence").This was reportedby the IC of Crimea and Sevastopol on December 15.
What eyewitnesses say
The sailor from the vessel "Volgoneft-212" Alexander Marchenko told "Izvestia" about the beginning of the emergency.
"Came on watch at eight o'clock, made the rounds. There were no remarks, but the wave was strong. At about 08:30 the alarm was announced, we began to break. The whole crew gathered in the deckhouse and put on life jackets," Marchenko said.
He said that the rescue ship "Mercury" several times tried to approach the stern, where the crew was. However, according to the sailor, the attempts were in vain. Later a helicopter arrived, which evacuated them, specified Marchenko.
Also "Izvestia" published a record of a conversation between the captain of the tanker "Volgoneft-212" and the dispatcher.
"Broke the hull of the vessel," - said the commander during the negotiations.
He also noted that the crew is in life jackets and the rear part of the tanker is still held on the water. There is no possibility to lower the water lines, the captain clarified. He appealed to the dispatcher for help.
Environmental consequences of the fuel oil spill off the coast of Kerch
As explained to "Izvestia" by Sergey Mikhailyuta, a member of the Expert Council on Natural Resources and Ecology of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, PhD in Technical Sciences, any pollution of water bodies with oil products causes a threat to waterfowl.
- In order to neutralize the consequences, it is first necessary to collect the contaminated water from the surface as much as possible. This is impossible on a large area, a small film will remain anyway," the expert said. According to him, such a place is fenced with drilling facilities and placed one of the types of sorbent, which absorbs the smallest contaminants.
It is difficult to talk about the terms of restoration of the ecological situation in the Kerch Strait, he added. If a small area is affected, it can be eliminated in about a day.
According to Boris Kokotov, President of the National Association of Natural Resource Users, Candidate of Law, harmful substances contained in fuel oil can affect the entire aquatic and biological resource that feeds living organisms.
- Part of the oil products can go down to the bottom, after which there is a threat of long-term impact. It may be necessary to clean the bottom from fuel oil," the biologist noted.
According to him, there are special oil traps, which allow to quickly clean the water area. Now, first of all, it is necessary to localize the pollution, because the water in the strait is in motion. The tanker owner should have a special plan of measures in case of an emergency, the expert added.
Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft 239 tankers: what is known
Both tankers were built in Volgograd. The Volgoneft-212 was launched exactly 55 years ago - on December 15, 1969. Its last home port was St. Petersburg, and one of its last voyages was from Volgograd to the port of Kavkaz. The tanker carried more than 4 thousand tons of fuel oil.
The tanker Volgoneft-239 was built in 1973 and its last home port was Astrakhan. Gross tonnage of the tanker is 3.5 thousand tons.
