Fuel oil leak from Russian tankers into the Black Sea: losses exceed $14 billion

Fuel oil in water. Photo: Apostrophe

The fuel oil leak from two Russian tankers in the Black Sea has caused a large-scale environmental disaster. The damage from pollution to the Black Sea ecosystem exceeds $14 billion.

This was reported on Facebook by the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Svitlana Hrynchuk.

She indicates that the amount of damage may increase after the data on the consequences of the disaster are clarified. Currently, Ukrainian experts are actively documenting the facts of the pollution and analyzing its impact on the environment.

In addition, Ukraine has requested the Secretariat of the Black Sea Protection Commission to hold an extraordinary meeting to assess the state of waters, bottom sediments, and the marine ecosystem.

For its part, the Ukrainian side held an online meeting with the ministers of ecology of Romania and Bulgaria, agreeing on further steps. Weather conditions are expected to improve for obtaining satellite images, which will help in accurately determining the scale of pollution.

Among the main threats are pollution of coastal ecosystems, especially the areas of natural reserves of the Kerch Bay, as well as the possibility of the spread of oil slick to other parts of the Crimean coast.

Recall that on December 15, near Cape Panagia in the Kerch Strait, the tanker Volgoneft ran aground, and 4 tons of fuel oil could have leaked into the sea. Later, it became known that another tanker, Volgoneft-239, began to sink after it. Its hull broke into two parts after being hit by a wave.