Massive oil spill hits Black Sea in Russia, spreading toward Crimea
Photo: Oil spills into the Black Sea in Russia (Getty Images)
Near the Russian city of Novorossiysk, at least 10 tons of petroleum products spilled into the Black Sea due to a leak. The slick, covering about 350 square kilometers, is drifting toward occupied Crimea, the Russian TASS news agency reports.
Earlier, based on satellite data as of August 30, the area of pollution was estimated at 75 square kilometers, with a spill volume of 4–5 tons. The current scale of the accident has turned out to be significantly larger.
“The area of the petroleum spill in the Black Sea caused by the leak near Novorossiysk, according to the latest data, is about 350 square kilometers. The minimum estimated volume of petroleum products exceeds 10 tons,” the news agency states.
According to experts, the pollution is being contained west of Anapa. Some petroleum products may reach the coastline north of Anapa, while the slick itself is moving toward Crimea, passing south of the Kerch Strait.
The leak occurred on August 29 during a cargo operation with a tanker at the port of Novorossiysk. After the incident, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) decommissioned one of the three offshore berths at its marine terminal.
Fuel oil spill in Kerch Strait
In December 2024, a strong storm in the Kerch Strait caused incidents involving two Russian tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, which were carrying fuel oil.
As a result, between 2,400 and 8,000 tons of petroleum products entered the sea, causing serious pollution in the Black Sea waters.
Initially, the oil slicks were drifting toward the Russian coast, but over time, they approached occupied Ukrainian territories and reached the shores of the Odesa region.
The oil slick also entered the waters of Bulgaria and Romania. Ecologists reported dolphin deaths and alarming changes in the marine ecosystem.
For more details on the Russian tanker incident, read our material on the topic.
