Ukraine decries Russia’s oil spill near Crimea peninsula
- 16 December, 08:53
Kyiv has accused Kremlin of recklessness after a large-scale oil spill in the Kerch Strait connecting Ukraine’s occupied Crimea peninsula to Russia’s mainland.
In a statement on Monday, Ukraine’s navy spokesperson Dmytor Pletenchuk blamed Russia for the sinking of two oil tankers in Kerch Strait in the Black Sea the day earlier. “These are quite old Russian tankers. You can’t go to sea in such a storm. The Russians violated the operating rules. The result is an accident.”
Two Russian oil takers sank in the Black Sea on Sunday, spilling over 4,300 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, known as mazut, and causing serious environmental damage. Volgoneft-212 tanker split in two due to the storm and one of its 15 crew members lost his life. The second tanker, the 132-metre Volgoneft 239, with 14 crew members was also damaged after it had run up to 80 m from shore near the port of Taman at the south end of the Kerch Strait. The Russian Ministry of Emergencies suspended the operation to rescue the crew members on Sunday due to unfavourable weather conditions. Russian President Vladimir ordered to set up a working group to investigate the cause of the incident.
Two criminal cases have been launched in Russia to investigate possible violation of safety rules that resulted in the killing of one person.
