Russian oil tankers sink in the sea, environmental disaster

A terrible shipwreck occurred today in Kerch Straitabout eight kilometers off the coast of Crimea. This was announced by the Russian Emergencies Ministry, an oil tanker sank which also broke apart and lost its bow which quickly sank. Almost all the sailors were rescued, but one died according to current data. The second oil tanker is currently in difficulty but in serious difficulty, it seems that the two vessels are smaller in size compared to ocean-going oil tankers and are therefore not suitable for large seas and are usually used for river traffic. The consequences and environmental impact of this accident are dramatic. in fact, an ecological disaster of enormous dimensions is predicted due to the loss into the sea of ​​tons of crude oil, a sort of heavier and lower quality diesel fuel used for combustion, called “mazut” it is a product of the blast furnace which is less noble than petrol and even diesel and close to mineral oils. It has a low cost and for this reason it is used for low-tech engines or for other types of combustion. The ship that broke in two is the Volgoneft-212which he carried 4300 tons of fuel oil: an accident that fuels concerns of strong environmental risks and that caused 11 injured between crew members and a deceased person. The accident occurred in the Kerch Strait, which separates Russia from Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

The accident, according to the Russian Federal Agency for Transport at Sea and Inland Waters, is to be attributed to a storm that hit the waters of the Black Sea. According to what we read in Tass, the Volgoneft-212 – which was carrying more Of 4 tons of fuel oil – was ripped apart at the bow. Subsequently another tanker, the Volgoneft-239was damaged in the same area. One would have already been created at sea large oil slick. It was not specified how much crude oil was on Volgoneft-239. There were a total of 29 crew members on board the two ships, 13 of whom have already been rescued.

A rescue operation, which involved more than 50 people including tugboats and helicopters, led to the recovery of 13 crew members from an oil tanker, before the operation was suspended due to bad weather. The remaining 14 members aboard the second vessel would be equipped with everything needed for immediate survival, but may be stranded until weather conditions improve.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the establishment of a “working group” to handle the incident. It will be led by Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelev. At least one crew member of one of the two ships died. The investigators hypothesized possible criminal negligence. In 2007 another Volgoneft oil tanker, the Volgoneft-139, had sunk and broken in two, when it was anchored off the Kerch Strait. It had spilled more than a thousand tons of oil into the sea.

It seems that the two oil tankers affected by the accident are small ships belonging to the company Volgatanker. Each vessel had a capacity of around 4,300 tonnes of oil, Russian officials told Tass. Unlike large oil tankers, which can transport around 120 thousand tons of oil, these vessels appear to be mainly intended for river transport or in Russian coastal waters.