Russian-appointed officials have declared an emergency after oil was detected on the shores of Sevastopol. Three weeks ago, two tankers plying the Kerch Strait spilled oil in the Black Sea after being struck by a storm, close to eastern Crimea. Sevastopol is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. According to Russian officials quoted by Tass news agency, the two tankers were carrying around 4,300 dead weight tonnes of oil each, with Russian authorities investigating the incidents for criminal negligence. The Kerch Strait separates Russia-occupied Crimea Peninsula from the Krasnodar region, an important global shipping route.
“Today a regional emergency regime has been declared in Sevastopol,” regional Gov. Mikhail Razvozhaev wrote on Telegram. “Let me emphasize: there is no mass pollution of the coastline in Sevastopol,” he wrote.
Oil accidents due to negligence are pretty common in Russia. Last year, two oil tankers collided in the Irkutsk region in Russia thanks to a captain operating under the influence of alcohol, causing oil spillage into a local river. According to Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev, it was not clear how much fuel spilled into the Lena River, the world’s 11th longest, but said one tanker that sustained significant damage was carrying 138 metric tons of gasoline. The governor estimated that as many as 60 to 90 tons of fuel might have spilled in the river.
However, bad weather frequently causes major oil accidents in Russia. Considered the worst of its kind in the country, the Norilsk oil spill was caused by the adverse impacts of climate change. In May 2020, melting permafrost caused a large storage tank near Norilsk to sink after weeks of unusually warm weather in the Arctic with the Ambarnaya River famously running red. One source estimated that as much as 29,000 tonnes (about 218,000 barrels) of diesel could have found its way into the soil and nearby water bodies.
By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com