December 25, 2024

Cleaning up Kerch Strait Oil Spill


Cleaning up Kerch Strait Oil Spill
Tanker Volgoneft-212 in 2018. Alexxx1979, Wikimedia Commons.

Two ships, the Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, sank on December 15 in the Kerch Strait following a storm. Emergency services said the tankers carried about 9,200 tons of fuel oil, resulting in an oil spill that contaminated miles of shoreline and killed at least 11 dolphins and 125 birds.

Three hours after the incident, authorities began declaring states of emergency in local municipalities affected by the spill. By the end of that hour, emergency declarations were in place in seven populated areas, including the resort town of Anapa.

Emergency personnel from the regional Kuban-SPAS team and the Russian Emergencies Ministry arrived to collect oil along the Black Sea coast. A total of 267 people and 50 equipment units were deployed. On Saturday, December 21, the Russian Emergencies Ministry reported that 34 of the 54 kilometers (22 of the 33 miles) of affected coastline had been cleared, and 12,000 tons of contaminated sand had been collected.

However, according to the independent publication Agentstvo, it was not the emergency personnel, but volunteers who did the most work. They used shovels and scoops to handle the cleanup instead of bulldozers. Due to a lack of equipment, the filled bags were not always removed promptly and may have leaked oil back onto the sand.

A week after the sinking, authorities had yet to begin pumping out the remaining oil from the tankers, said Yevgeny Simonov, an ecologist and member of the international Ukraine War Environmental Consequences Work Group. He noted that weather conditions would have allowed pumping operations to start, but no information on such work has been released. One tanker is aground near the coast, which Simonov said could make pumping the oil easier.

Satellite images taken Friday showed one of two oil slicks located not far from the shore near Anapa, covering an area of about 100 square kilometers (38 square miles). Ecologists from the Prozrachny Mir na Kaspy (Transparent World on the Caspian) project said the wind’s direction raises the likelihood of renewed coastal pollution near Anapa and possible new contamination in Crimea and Taman.

Russian officials have not yet issued an official estimate of the total damage. Ecologist Grigory Kavanovsyan said the spill’s impact could cost anywhere from R30 billion to R50 billion ($300 million to $500 million).

You Might Also Like

A Memory Battle, Won
  • December 22, 2024

A Memory Battle, Won

A statue to the founder of the Soviet secret police has been erected in Khabarovsk.
Ghost of Economy Future
  • December 15, 2024

Ghost of Economy Future

Russian analysts give their forecasts for what the economy might look like in early 2025.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955