Two Russian tankers sink in Black Sea, spilling 4,300 tonnes of oil.
Ukraine accuses Moscow of negligence over risk of ecological damage to marine environment
Luke Harding and agencies
Two Russian tankers carrying more than 4,000 tonnes of petroleum products have sunk in the Black Sea amid stormy conditions, threatening an ecological disaster.
On Sunday, the Volgoneft-212 cargo ship broke in two after being hit by a large wave. Video footage showed its front end sticking vertically out of the water. The vessel ran into difficulties off the eastern coast of occupied Crimea, 8km from the Kerch Strait, Russian media reported.
The tanker was carrying 4,300 tonnes of low-quality heavy fuel oil, known as fuel oil. Russian emergency services launched a rescue operation involving tugboats and a Mil Mi-8 helicopter. There were 13 crew members on board.
Shortly after, another tanker, the Volgoneft-239, ran into trouble in the same area. It was carrying 4 tons of oil. It is also believed to be sinking. "Another ship is sinking. Hell!" shouted a sailor filming from a nearby boat.
Ukrainian authorities have accused Moscow of negligence. Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian navy, said: "These are quite old Russian tankers. We cannot go to sea in such a storm.
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TheRussians violated the rules of operation. The result is an accident. »
Commentators noted that oil products, if spilled into the Black Sea, would cause serious ecological damage to a marine environment already destroyed by the war.
Volgoneft-212 was 55 years old, registered in St. Petersburg and recently repaired. The center was cut out and the edge and bow were glued together, forming a large seam in the middle. This is the part that appears to be broken. Crew members watched the ship sink. Video footage showed men standing on the deck, wearing orange life jackets. A black dot could be seen floating on the surface, next to an inverted parabolic arc. Waves crashed against the wrecked hull.
The accident involving the destroyed Russian ships is the latest maritime disaster to occur off the coast of southern Ukraine. The Black Sea has been a zone of intense military conflict since Vladimir Putin's invasion of the country began in 2022.
Ukraine used drones and other missiles to sink part of Russia's Black Sea fleet. It was forced to leave the Crimean port of Sevastopol and move to the safer Russian port of Novorossiysk.
In June 2023, Russian troops breached the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam on the Dnieper River in the occupied territory to prevent a Ukrainian military attack. The breach released 18 billion tons of water held upstream in a giant reservoir. The floods swept away dozens of villages. Water polluted by fuel, sewage and fertilizers flows into the Black Sea. According to biologists, the pollution destroyed mussels and other molluscs, as well as fish and crustaceans.
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Scientists have recorded an increase in dolphin and porpoise deaths since the widespread attack on the Kremlin. About 1,000 cetaceans were killed in 2022. Bottlenose and white dolphin populations have suffered.
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