Two Russian tankers carrying more than 4,000 tonnes of oil products have sunk in the Black Sea amid stormy conditions, threatening an ecological disaster.
The cargo ship Volgoneft-212 snapped in half on Sunday after being hit by a large wave. Video showed its bow end sticking vertically out of the water. The boat got into difficulties off the east coast of occupied Crimea, 5 miles (8km) from the Kerch strait, Russian media reported.
The tanker was carrying 4,300 tonnes of low-grade heavy fuel oil, known as mazut. Russia’s emergency service launched a rescue operation involving tugboats and a Mil Mi-8 helicopter. Thirteen crew members were onboard.
Shortly afterwards, another cargo transporter, the Volgoneft-239, got into difficulties in the same area. It was carrying 4 tonnes of fuel oil. The vessel also reportedly sank. “Another ship is going down. Holy shit!” a sailor said, filming from a nearby boat.
Ukrainian officials accused Moscow of recklessness. Dmytro Pletenchuk, Ukraine’s navy spokesperson, said: “These are quite old Russian tankers. You can’t go to sea in such a storm. The Russians violated the operating rules. The result is an accident.”
Commentators pointed out that the oil products, if spilled into the Black Sea, would cause serious ecological damage to a marine environment already badly affected by war.
The Volgoneft-212 was 55 years old, registered in St Petersburg and recently refitted. The centre was cut out and the stern and bow were welded together, forming a huge seam in the middle. It is this section that appears to have broken.
Crew members watched as the helpless ship was wrecked. Video footage showed men standing in the bridge wearing orange lifejackets. A black slick could be seen floating on the surface, next to a parabolic upturned bow. Waves crashed over the stricken hull.
The accident involving decrepit Russian boats is the latest marine catastrophe to take place near the coast of southern Ukraine. The Black Sea has been a zone of intense military conflict since the start of Vladimir Putin’s 2022 full-scale invasion of the country.
Ukraine has used sea drones and other missiles to sink some of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. It has been forced to leave the Crimean port of Sevastopol and to relocate to the safer Russian harbour of Novorossiysk.
In June 2023, Russian troops blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam over the Dnipro River, in occupied territory, in order to hamper a Ukrainian military attack. The explosion released 18bn tonnes of water held upstream in a giant reservoir.
The floodwater swept away dozens of villages. Water contaminated with fuel, sewage and fertilisers cascaded into the Black Sea. According to biologists, the pollution wiped out mussels and other crustaceans, as well as fish.
Scientists have recorded a rise in deaths among dolphins and porpoises since the Kremlin’s all-out attack. About 1,000 cetaceans were killed in 2022. Populations of bottlenose and white-sided dolphins suffered.