According to the authorities, 4,300 tonnes of heavy fuel oil were spilled into the Black Sea, polluting 55 km of coastline.
The head of annexed Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, announced Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to establish a federal emergency regime due to an oil spill following the accident of an oil tanker in the Strait of Kerch.
The day before, the head of the Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratiev, established a state of emergency in the region.
According to him, the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov, will convene a commission on emergency situations, during which a decision will be made. Mr. Aksyonov also said that federal funds will be allocated to respond to the consequences of the oil spill.
“ We discussed yesterday with all our colleagues the possibility of conferring on this situation the status of federal emergency upon decision of the leader.t,” Mr. Aksyonov said on the Krym 24 television channel (quoted by Interfax).
On Thursday, Alexander Kurenkov arrived in Anapa to check the organization of coastal cleaning work. He will hold a meeting of the government commission, the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.
On December 25, the regional emergency regime was established by Governor Veniamin Kondratiev. Previously, in the Krasnodar region, since December 17, the emergency regime at the municipal level was introduced in the territory of Anapa and Temryuksky district.
In Anapa and Temryuksky district, cleaning work is underway along a 54 km coastline. The surveillance zone extends over 190 kilometers. 4,000 rescuers and volunteers are taking part in the work. As of December 25, nearly 30,000 tonnes of contaminated sand had been collected, of which 23,500 tonnes had been removed from the beaches.
Two Russian tankers collided
On December 15, two Russian tankers collided after weathering a storm in the Kerch Strait, spilling more than 4,300 tons of heavy fuel oil into the Black Sea. According to authorities, the spill polluted around 55 km of coastline.
Both ships were carrying a poor quality petroleum product called fuel oil. Authorities deployed more than 7,500 people, including many volunteers, to save wildlife and clean up coastlines stained by the black substance.
Russian news agency Tass said some 12,000 tonnes of contaminated soil had been removed from 34 km of coastline.
Veniamin Kondratiev, governor of the Krasnodar region, said on Telegram that initial calculations predicted that the majority of the oil would remain at the bottom of the Black Sea, allowing it to be recovered from the water.
“But the weather dictates its own conditions, the air warms up and oil products rise to the surface. Consequently, they wash up on our beachess,” he said.
“Until now, a municipal emergency situation was in effect, which was quickly established by the authorities of Anapa and the Temryuk district in the first days of the sinking. But the situation remains tense. I have decided to implement a regional emergency regime from today. My deputy Igor Galas will head the regional headquartersal.” He added
The governor of Krasnodar also announced a new plan to cope with the mammoth task ahead. “We monitor 240 kilometers of coastline. At the regional meeting, we decided to divide this distance into 44 sectors and assign the municipalities in the region to them. They will be responsible for detecting and collecting fuel oil in the territory assigned to them.“.
Pollution has covered the sandy beaches around Anapa, a popular seaside resort. Kondratiev says his administration will make every effort to restore the region to its former glory, adding that the main priority is to clean up the coastline as quickly as possible in order to preserve the resort town.