Storm bias: what could have led to the tragedy in the Kerch Strait
The tankers that crashed in the Kerch Strait should have been decommissioned 10-15 years ago, and one of them could not even go on a voyage at all, as its authorization documents were suspended, Izvestia found out. The maximum service life of such vessels is 40 years, experts say. At the same time "Volgoneft-212" was launched in 1969, and "Volgoneft-239" - in 1973. In addition, the tankers should not have been in the water area at the time of the storm: their design cannot withstand strong waves. As a result of the accident, some oil products leaked into the sea, and there is a risk of damaging the ecosystem of the Taman Bay. What violations led to the tragedy and how its consequences will be eliminated - in the material "Izvestia".
Prerequisites of the tragedy
Tankers, December 15 wrecked in the Kerch Strait, exceeded the maximum service life, they should have been written off long before 2024, "Izvestia" found out.
- The wrecked vessels are very old. Such tankers last 30-40 years, while these vessels were over 50 years old, " explained Igor Kovalchuk, deputy chairman of the Russian Professional Union of Seafarers.
For example, the vessel Volgoneft-212 was built in 1969. At the same time, the current owner - Kama Shipping - started using it in 2014, i.e. 45 years after its construction, according to information on the Russianships portal.
Tankers "Volgoneft-212" and "Volgoneft-239" suffered a disaster 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, the Emergencies Ministry said.
According to preliminary estimates, almost 4 thousand tons of fuel oil from the "Volgoneft-212" got into the Black Sea. The Volgoneft-239, which ran aground, has not yet found any leaks, the vessel was carrying about the same amount.
Both tankers were tested for their suitability for transportation of dangerous goods in July this year, the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol reported.
The mother of the dead sailor told Izvestia that her son complained that the vessel was very old, as well as fatigue due to long watches.
Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov and head of Rosprirodnadzor Svetlana Radionova arrived at the wreck site on December 16.
- Now Rosmorrechflot is preparing diving divers to examine the tankers, as well as to inspect the leakage areas, - said Alexander Kozlov. - At the same time, overflight groups are working to monitor the appearance of oil slicks. Our task now is to identify these slicks as much as possible, localize them and eliminate them. The shoreline is constantly monitored so that the slicks do not drift to the shore. In the near future, Rosprirodnadzor specialists will start taking laboratory analyses of the water. We will do our best to reduce the impact on the environment.
Kama Shipping has a license to transport dangerous goods by inland waterway and sea, according to the data from the website of Rostransnadzor. The document was issued to the company in 2016, and it is valid indefinitely.
The license notes that "the area of navigation established in the submitted ship documents" for the tanker Volgoneft-212 is the Big Port of St. Petersburg. As experts explained to Izvestia, in this case it is the home port and not the restriction of movement to a specific area.
Kama Shipping's revenue last year amounted to 228 million rubles - a drop of 51 million rubles compared to 2022. In 2023, the company went into a minus, the loss amounted to 14 million rubles.
Kama Shipping had problems due to non-compliance with maritime legislation. So, in 2019, the firm was fined 400 thousand rubles.
It follows from the court decision that in the period from May 1 to July 23, 2019, the company carried out the transportation of dangerous goods "without a special permit for the right <...> to transport dangerous goods by sea".
On November 10, the tanker "Volgoneft-212" left the port of Saratov for the port of Kavkaz, located in the Kerch Strait, follows from the data of the State Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.
The second vessel - "Volgoneft-239" - was carrying oil products from the port of Azov. As of today, its documents have been "suspended", according to the website of the Russian Classification Society.
Tanker Volgoneft-239
The tanker was built in 1973, Volgatransneft has owned it since 2010. The company itself has existed since 2009, its revenue at the end of 2023 increased by 707% and amounted to 90 million rubles. But at the same time, it is unprofitable: the owners' losses amounted to 61 million rubles last year.
In 2018, Volgatransneft was almost declared bankrupt, but the firm managed to stop the process and restore its operations.
According to MarineTraffic, both vessels arrived at the port of Kavkaz in the Kerch Strait in November this year.
Interrogations and searches
The State Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol opened criminal cases on the fact of violation of the rules of safety of movement and operation of maritime transport. Investigators are working on the site, who will assess the actions of the crew, used in difficult weather conditions. In addition, the injured sailors are being interrogated, documents are being seized in the firms where the tankers underwent technical inspections, searches and interrogations of port workers are being conducted, summaries of information from operational services informing crews about extreme weather conditions are being studied, interrogations of shipowners in Perm and St. Petersburg are planned - this is reported by the official Telegram channel of the State Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Crimea and Sevastopol.
Alexander Marchenko, a sailor of the tanker Volgoneft-212, told Izvestia that he did not find any remarks during his morning rounds, but there were strong waves on the day of the wreck. Later, an alarm was announced and the ship began to "break".
- "The whole crew gathered in the deckhouse, put on life jackets and waited for the rescue vessel Mercury," he added. - At the time when we started pulling out the life raft, a helicopter arrived and they started to evacuate us on it. We were soaked and dirty, but thank God we are alive.
-Such vessels have limitations, especially when sailing in bad weather," Igor Kovalchuk from the Russian Professional Union of Seafarersexplained to Izvestia. - They depend on the design. If the conditions are violated, which is what happened in this case, the ship can simply break. The bow and stern find themselves on two waves, and the middle part sags, as a result the metal may not hold, especially if the vessel is overloaded. "Volgoneft-239" should not have left the port at all, as the documents for it are suspended.
According to the specialist's information, the maximum wave height for "Volgoneft-212" is 2.5 meters. The "Volgoneft-239" has no more than 2 meters. In fact, these are river vessels that went to the sea. An important factor is that there are often storms in the region, especially in winter.
The last service of tankers took place in the port of Taman, now there are searches and seizure of documents by investigators.
River-sea vessels like the Volgoneft are designed to work on rivers or in river deltas , said former navigator and ecologist Andrei Nagibin.
- Such vessels simply cannot go to sea, they are not adapted for that. It's a completely different draft for ships," the specialist said. - If it had been a sea vessel, such as a tanker, nothing would have happened.
Tanker Volgoneft-239
According to Article 80 of the Code of Merchant Shipping of the Russian Federation, every vessel is obliged to obtain the permission of the seaport captain to leave the seaport before leaving the seaport. The captain himself has the right to refuse to issue a permit to the vessel for several reasons, for example, if it violates the requirements for ship documents or because the vessel is unseaworthy.
Meteorologists at the Crimean UHMS warned of strong winds exceeding 27 m/s, Roman Vilfand, scientific head of the Hydrometeorological Center, told Izvestia.
- The warning system in Roshydromet is well worked out," he said. - There was bad weather, it really was. And the rest of the causes are being investigated.
How the consequences of the spill will be eliminated
The wind direction and the current are blowing away the consequences of the fuel oil spill along the Taman Peninsula, stressed Roman Pukalov, director of environmental programs of the all-Russian public organization Green Patrol. All factors point to the fact that the slick will reach the shores in Taman, as it did in 2007, when there was an accident with a similar volume of spill. Onshore cleanup is likely to take more than a month.
-Heavy fractions of fuel oil will sink and gradually come ashore, " he added. - Now light fractions should reach the shore, four groups of activists in different places of the Taman Peninsula observe some films, but they are quickly broken by waves.
The task is to fix on photo and video the place where the fuel oil stain will hit the shore of the Taman Peninsula, to estimate the size in width, length, as far as it is possible from the shore, experts said.
First of all, it is necessary to wait for the storm to subside, as it is difficult to work in such weather conditions, said ecologist Vladislav Zhukov. Then measures will be taken to limit the spread of oil products on the water surface. For this purpose, special booms will be installed.
- It is also possible to use sorbing substances that absorb oil products and automated collection systems (vacuum cleaners)," he explained. - As for getting fuel oil on the bottom sediments - it is quite difficult to eliminate them, some of them will remain in the reservoir. Oil products themselves pose a danger to the ecosystem as a whole, and marine flora and fauna will die.
There will be no catastrophic consequences for the ecology, as in 2010, when the world's largest oil spill in Mexico, environmentalists added. It is difficult to predict the halo of oil products spreading now. Everything depends on how quickly the storm will end. It not only prevents services from cleaning the reservoir, but also contributes to the fact that oil products continue to spread. The consequences of the spill will be completely eliminated within a few weeks.
Who will be held responsible for the accident
While investigative actions are underway and proper expertise has not been conducted, it is too early to make assumptions about who may be held liable, experts emphasize.
-Among the accused may be the technical service, which carried out the inspection, and in general, all those who are in any way responsible for the accident, " says lawyer Oksana Nikitina. - If the port is obliged to check the ships before departure, it may be accused as well. Such a large-scale case will involve many persons, each of whom has his or her own role in the crime. The case will grow rapidly, and new charges may be added, as well as possible reclassification.
The investigation may last several months, possibly more than a year, believes lawyer Dmitry Zatsarinsky. Part 2 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Violation of the rules of safety of movement and operation of maritime transport") is qualified as a crime of medium gravity. It can be punished with up to five years of imprisonment or correctional labor.
-In this case it makes sense to talk about a real term, since the case has gained a huge resonance, caused damage to the environment and resulted in the death of a person, " he added. - It is difficult to predict exactly how many years the perpetrators of the tragedy will be given, especially considering that the qualifications may change after numerous inspections.
In the first place, lawyers believe, charges may be brought against the companies that carried out technical inspections of the vessels to ensure that they were fit and in good working order, and their officials.
