Paint the Coast Black

The Southern Black Sea coasts of Russia and the illegally annexed Crimea have declared a state of emergency after two tankers carrying over 9,000 tons of petroleum collided and sank on the Kerch Strait on December 15, 2024, causing an oil spill for miles along the coast. The accident was the world's first involving mazut, a heavy, low-quality fuel oil mostly produced in Russia and former Soviet countries.

In late December, oil products began washing up on the shore of Anapa, Krasnodar Krai. On December 23, residents recorded a video demanding that Russian President Vladimir Putin send professional assistance. According to them, 5,000 volunteers "with shovels" would not be enough to solve the environmental crisis.

On December 25, Krasnodar Krai declared a state of emergency. Authorities said the mazut spill covered an area of over 49 kilometers (30.4 miles) along the Black Sea coastline. A sharp increase in injured and dead birds has been detected. On January 2 alone, over a thousand birds were delivered to volunteers in the village of Vityazevo. The ecologist Zhora Kavanosyan said, "Almost all [of the birds] die on the way."

The mazut spill stretched as far as 179 miles from the Kerch Strait. On January 3, the Russia-designated governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozzhaev, warned on Telegram about oil clots on the water, beaches, and the danger to birds. The Nakhimovets, Zvedzny Bereg, Golubaya Bukhta, and Serebryany coasts were stained with oil. On Nakhimovets Beach, the petroleum spill covered 760 meters of coastline. 

The Ministry of Transportation explained on Telegram that, given mazut's solidification temperature and density similar to water, it doesn't float on the surface. Instead, this kind of oil floats in the water column. The Ministry added, "There are no proven technologies in the world for removing [mazut] from the water column." Therefore, government officials said, the only hope of cleaning up the waters is to wait for it to wash up and pollute the shore.