14 January 2025
(Photo: Getty Images)
Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria have joined forces to combat the Black Sea disaster caused by fuel oil pollution from Russian tankers. However, further actions are complicated by the fact that Russia is hiding the true consequences.
This was reported by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.
Svitlana Hrynchuk, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, said that joint actions for cooperation with international institutions had been agreed upon at the level of the countries' ministries.
The meeting was held online between Hrynchuk, Romanian Minister of Environment Mircea Feket and acting Minister of Environment of Bulgaria Petar Dimitrov. They noted the problem of the lack of accurate data on the consequences of the December 15, 2024 Russian tanker accident that caused the Black Sea to be polluted with fuel oil. The data is limited, in particular, only through the Crimean media and some satellite images showing the spread of fuel oil to Yevpatoria.
"Despite the fact that mathematical models do not show the movement of the slick to the west, the consequences of the Russian tanker accident pose risks to the entire Black Sea. We are talking about tens of kilometers of fuel oil film on the water surface deep in the Black Sea, thousands of kilometers of polluted coastline, thousands of dead birds and dozens of dolphins, and disrupted food chains in ecosystems," the minister said.
Environmentalists have already estimated that the fuel oil leak could cost the Black Sea ecosystem up to $14 billion. At the same time, the countries agreed to restrict access to the Black Sea for Russia's outdated fleet, as it poses a threat to the marine ecosystem.
Ukraine has appealed to international organizations such as the UN, UNEP, UNESCO, and the EU, and has also received confirmation from the Black Sea Commission that an extraordinary meeting is needed to address the situation. On January 27, the issue will be discussed at a meeting of the International Maritime Organization.
The accident in the Kerch Strait became known on December 15. The shipwreck occurred near Cape Panagia in the Temryuksky district of Krasnodar Territory, in the southwest of the Taman Peninsula, 12 kilometers from the village of Taman. It is the eastern entrance to the Kerch Strait from the Black Sea. According to official data, both tankers could have been carrying about 8,000 tons of oil products.
On January 10, 2025, another oil leak occurred in the Kerch Strait from the stern of the sunken Russian tankerVolgoneft. This part of the vessel ran aground near Taman in the Temryutsky district.
On January 12, it was reported that a 300-square-kilometer fuel oil slick had reached the shores of the Azov Sea.
Ірина Глухова