Until May months: the consequences of the fuel oil spill in the Black Sea will be eliminated in spring as well
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- Until May months: the consequences of the fuel oil spill in the Black Sea will be eliminated in spring as well
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the pollution of the Black Sea coast with fuel oil due to the accident of two tankers an ecological disaster. During the direct line, he said that almost 40% of the fuel had fallen into the sea and it would take many months to eliminate the consequences of the accident. The head of state urged the specialists to get ready for May - then the fuel oil from the bottom should start to rise to the surface due to warming. The President drew attention to the fact that the investigative authorities are checking the role of tanker captains in the accident - according to him, there is a possibility that they did not take the ships to a safe place in the storm. On November 19, the Kiev district court of Simferopol sent the captain of the tanker "Volgoneft-212" to pre-trial detention for two months, the captain of the vessel "Volgoneft-239" chose a measure of restraint in the form of house arrest for the same period.
How fuel oil will be removed from the coast
The consequences of the tanker accident in the Kerch Strait, which occurred on December 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin called it an ecological disaster during his direct line.
- It is quite obvious," he said. - 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 and did not go to shelter in time. Some ships went to shelter: everything is fine with them, but these ships did not leave, and anchored in the wrong place. The relevant services of the Ministry of Transportation and law enforcement agencies will deal with this.
The tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 were carrying several thousand tons of oil products, some of which leaked out when they crashed. Thus, experts, referring to satellite data, noted that about 3 thousand tons of fuel oil fell into the sea.
- Almost 40% of fuel has leaked out, it's quite obvious, it's already clear," said the President. - Yesterday the storm was still 4-5 points, and it is quite difficult to work. By Saturday, in my opinion, the sea should calm down and work will be possible.
According to the President, the elimination of the accident consequences will be divided into several stages. First, the contaminated area should be fenced off to prevent further spread of fuel oil.
- Second. We must do everything to remove the fuel that appears on the shore," said Vladimir Putin. - As I was informed yesterday or the day before yesterday by the Governor (of the Krasnodar Territory. - Ed.) Kondratiev Veniamin Ivanovich, he said: "I have concentrated a group of about 4 thousand people there". In principle, there are no other measures, he told me so, in any case, at the moment. But if it is necessary, of course, we will be ready to deploy an additional grouping of the Ministry of Emergency Situations there.
Now, Putin noted, various services and agencies are working on the situation, coordinated by Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev - a special working group has been created for this purpose.
He added that if necessary, an additional grouping of the Ministry of Emergency Situations will be deployed in the area of the emergency in the Kerch Strait.
Right during the live line Veniamin Kondratiev reported in his Telegram-channel that more than 5 thousand people, 184 units of equipment are involved in the elimination of oil products that have fallen on the shore, about 860 tons of fuel oil have been removed. According to the mayor's office of Anapa, the collected soil with oil products is taken to specialized enterprises in Temryuksky and Abinsky districts of Krasnodar Krai for safe disposal.
Vladimir Putin noted that it is already necessary to prepare for another stage of elimination of consequences.
- This fuel is fuel oil, it has its properties at certain temperatures. It is a solid material, it is thrown ashore in this form. We have to clean it up, but some of this fuel oil has already lain on the bottom, and somewhere in May it may rise at other temperatures and be thrown out too," he said. - We need to prepare now for the moment when the water temperature rises. We need to think now about what we should do about the rise.
In addition, according to the president, it is necessary to pull the damaged tankers ashore, but first strengthen their hulls to prevent further leakage of cargo.
What works are to be done in the spring
According to Elena Tikhonova, head of the chemoecology laboratory of the Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who has just returned from a sampling expedition in the Kerch Strait, there will be difficult work in the spring - it is not easy to fight with transformed oil products that have been on the bottom for a long time.
- But man will be helped by nature, which will help to process pollution with the help of bacteria that absorb hydrocarbons," she said. - There will also be oxidation of oil product particles by solar ultraviolet. Therefore, in spring it is necessary to organize pollution monitoring, which will help to understand whether the situation has been stabilized.
The specialist added that now, due to relatively low temperatures, most of the fuel oil does not mix with water, does not turn into an emulsion and does not sink to the bottom, so during calm weather it can be collected from the surface with the help of mechanical systems. Also, due to frost, fuel oil becomes viscous and lumps of it are thrown ashore, where it can be promptly removed.
- At present we cannot accurately assess the scale of the tragedy, but it is already clear that many species of animals, including dolphins, birds, and organisms that live in the aquatic environment have been affected. It is possible to assess the total damage only after a detailed analysis, - said Elena Tikhonova.
Leading specialist of the weather center "Phobos" Mikhail Leus told "Izvestia" that the cyclone, which caused the storm, is gradually leaving.
- There is no wind above 12 meters per second on the Crimean and Black Sea coasts," he said.
What punishment awaits the guilty
The captains of the tankers "Volgoneft-239" and "Volgoneft-212" were charged on Wednesday, December 18, the Investigative Committee of Russia reported. A criminal case was opened under Part 1 and 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").
As a result of a tanker crash on one of the vessels, a crew member was killed. The captain of this vessel faces up to five years' imprisonment. The captain of the second tanker, where there were no fatalities, faces up to two years in prison.
On December 19, the court elected a preventive measure for the captain of the tanker "Volgoneft-212" Leonid Volegov in the form of detention. Captain of the Volgoneft-239 Vasily Smirnov was sent under house arrest.
- The measure of restraint for both defendants was chosen for a period of two months, until February 17, 2025, - said in the report of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.
According to the investigation, on December 15 in stormy weather conditions tankers were significantly damaged and sank, in addition, allowed the spillage of fuel oil into the Black Sea.
"After weather conditions improve, it is planned to conduct an inspection of the wreck site, as well as the recovery of wreckage for the appointment of technical and environmental forensic examinations in order to establish the harm to the marine environment of the Azov-Black Sea basin due to the spillage of fuel oil," the agency said in a statement.
Lawyer Vladimir Shelupakhin believes that in the future the case may be reclassified to other articles - violation of requirements in the field of transport safety, violation of environmental protection rules during work and pollution of the marine environment.
- Investigators must assess the actions of all those responsible for the movement of the ships. And first of all, it is necessary to understand whether the tragedy could have been avoided in stormy conditions, whether the safety rules and instructions providing for the algorithm of actions in such situations were observed," he said.
Evgeny Tonkiy, managing partner of the law firm Tonkiy and Partners, agrees with him.
- Both the owners of the vessels who allowed them to be operated in an improper technical condition and the specialists who carried out maintenance work on the tankers can be held criminally liable," the lawyer explained.
The lawyer added that the investigation will have to prove a causal link between the captains' decision to go to sea in a storm and the fact of the wreck.
