The oil spill from sunken tankers from the Kerch Strait will move towards nature reserves - Ministry of Environment
Kyiv • UNN
After the accident of Russian tankers in the Kerch Strait on December 15, fuel oil spilled into the sea. According to the forecast by December 31, the pollution will reach the Opuk Nature Reserve and the open waters of the Black Sea.
According to the forecast, the oil slick from the Kerch Strait will move south and southwest, reaching, in particular, the territories of the Opuk Nature Reserve and the "Cape Takil" landscape park, as well as the open waters of the Black Sea. This was reported on Wednesday by the Ministry of Environment, reports UNN.
Details
As indicated by the department, according to updated data and modeling results of the UkrNTSEM, confirmed by satellite images, part of the fuel oil reached the coast of the Russian Federation, in particular the Anapa region, as well as the Ukrainian part of the coast of the Kerch Strait to Kerch.
At the moment, it is not known for sure whether the fuel oil continues to leak from the sunken vessel, the Ministry of Environment said.
According to satellite data as of December 24, dark stripes were recorded near the Feodosia Bay. The department believes that the most likely formation of these dark areas is caused by the wind, which can contribute to the spread of pollution along the southeastern coast of Crimea.
The Ministry of Environment published the forecast of the spread of fuel oil by UkrNTSEM until December 31.
"Model calculations performed for the period from December 25 to December 31, 2024, show a gradual expansion of the oil slick in the Black Sea. At the beginning of the period, the pollution was concentrated near the Kerch Strait, but under the influence of changing wind conditions and currents, the fuel oil began to move in a southerly and southwesterly direction, reaching the coast, in particular the territories of the Opuk Nature Reserve and the "Cape Takil" landscape park, and the open waters of the Black Sea.
In the period from December 28 to 29, the formation of separate pollution centers in the Taman Peninsula area and adjacent waters is observed.
The concentration of fuel oil decreases in the central part of the slick, but highly concentrated areas remain near the coast. By the end of the modeling (December 31), part of the fuel oil is dispersed into the open part of the Black Sea, but residual pollution continues to affect the bottom sediments and coastal zones," the forecast says.
According to media reports, from December 15 to 25, 19 dead dolphins were found on the coast of the Krasnodar Territory. As indicated by the Ministry of Environment, the most likely cause of death is acute intoxication. No external traces of petroleum products, injuries, diseases, or exhaustion were found on the bodies.
"The real number of dead dolphins may be many times higher. The enemy is hiding the exact data on environmental damage, even in its own country," the Ministry of Environment added.
Reminder
On December 15, the tankers "Volganeft-212" and "Volganeft-239" were involved in an accident in the Kerch Strait. As a result of the accident, more than three thousand tons of fuel oil entered the water.
