Greenpeace warns of catastrophe after two Russian tankers crash in Black Sea
Russian tankers crash in Black Sea cause an environmental catastrophe (photo: Getty Images)
Russia's militarization of the Black and Azov Seas is leading to a new environmental disaster. Right now, more than four tons of oil products are being spilled into the water, states Greenpeace.
“4300 tonnes of fuel oil and possibly other oil products are now being spilling into the waters of the Kerch Strait (connecting Black Sea and Azov Sea) as a result of two fuel tankers hit by the storm,” the organization noted.
According to them, the two Russian tankers were carrying a cargo of fuel for the Russian fleet, and the system for determining the location of ships had been offline for 12 days (tracking data from October 1 shows that the delivery route starts from Volgograd and ends in the Kerch Strait).
Dr. Paul Johnston, head of Greenpeace's research laboratories at the University of Exeter in the UK, warned that any spill of oil or oil products in these waters could have serious consequences.
“It is likely to be driven by prevailing wind and currents (moving now to the North-East) and in the current weather conditions is likely to be extremely difficult to contain. If it is driven ashore, then it will cause fouling of the shoreline which will be extremely difficult to clean up. Any environmental impact will depend on the type of oil spilled,” added the head of the research laboratories.
He noted that heavy residual oil products such as fuel oil tend to have a more noticeable impact, including on marine life. However, he emphasized that given the possibility of such a significant environmental impact, the focus should be on trying to minimize further spills.
“If the ships sink, then there is the potential for releases of oil and petrochemicals over a longer time span,” Dr. Johnston said.
The organization also recalled that the region has already suffered from severe weather conditions, which led to the spill of 1,200 tons of fuel oil from a single Russian tanker in 2007 off the Tuzla Peninsula.
“It resulted in severe damage to the environment, observed even a year after the accident. Greenpeace Ukraine will continue monitoring the situation,” Greenpeace summarized.
Russia has already lost three vessels due to bad weather conditions.
As RBC-Ukraine reported earlier today, two Russian tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, began to sink in the Kerch Strait. The accident was caused by a strong storm.
The first footage from the scene can be found in the RBC-Ukraine report.
