Two Russian oil tankers have been severely damaged in the Black Sea, resulting in an oil spill, according to Russian authorities. Footage released by the Southern Transport Prosecutor’s Office showed the bow of one tanker completely broken off, with visible streaks of oil in the water.
The incident occurred in the Kerch Strait, which separates Russia from Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014. Both tankers are believed to have drifted before running aground offshore, resulting in the death of at least one crew member.
A rescue operation was launched, involving tugboats, helicopters, and over 50 personnel, which successfully rescued 13 crew members from one tanker. However, the operation was suspended due to bad weather, leaving 14 crew members stranded on the second tanker. Authorities have reported that the stranded crew members have “everything necessary for immediate life support” on board.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered a working group to be set up to deal with the incident, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev. An investigation into criminal negligence is also underway.
According to Michelle Bockmann, an analyst at Lloyd’s List, the two tankers are owned by the company Volgatanker and are relatively small, carrying around 4,300 dead weight tonnes of oil each. Bockmann noted that these tankers were likely used for transporting oil through Russia’s rivers or coastal waters, rather than for international trade.
The Kerch Strait is a key route for Russian exports of grain, crude oil, fuel oil, and liquefied natural gas. The area has a history of oil spills, including a 2007 incident in which the Volgoneft-139 tanker split in half during a storm, spilling over 1,000 tonnes of oil.
Russian oil imports have been heavily sanctioned by Ukraine’s allies since the Kremlin’s invasion in February 2022. While Russia has been accused of using a “ghost fleet” of poorly maintained tankers to circumvent sanctions, Bockmann stated that the tankers involved in Sunday’s incident did not appear to be part of this fleet.
