Two Russian oil tankers have spilled oil into the Black Sea after running aground in the Kerch Strait, which separates Russia from Crimea. The tankers, each carrying around 4,300 deadweight tonnes of oil, are believed to have drifted before the accident, according to Russian officials.
The Russian authorities are now investigating the incident for criminal negligence, as reported by the Tass news agency.
Oil spills caused by negligence are a recurring issue in Russia. Last year, two oil tankers collided in the Irkutsk region due to a captain operating under the influence of alcohol. This crash resulted in an oil spill into the Lena River, one of the longest rivers in the world. While it remains unclear exactly how much oil leaked into the river, local officials estimated that up to 90 tons of fuel might have been spilled. One of the damaged tankers was carrying 138 metric tons of gasoline.
The most significant oil spill in recent Russian history occurred in May 2020 near the Arctic city of Norilsk. The spill, considered the worst in the country’s history, was triggered by climate change. Unusually warm temperatures caused permafrost to melt, leading to the collapse of an oil storage tank. An estimated 29,000 tonnes (about 218,000 barrels) of diesel may have leaked into the soil and local water bodies. The Ambarnaya River, which ran red from the contamination, became a symbol of the environmental disaster.
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a state of federal emergency in the Krasnoyarsk region as Norilsk Nickel, the company responsible for the tank, rushed to contain the spill. The incident was not reported to authorities until two days later, after images of the polluted river were posted online. In response, Putin ordered Vladimir Potanin, a billionaire part-owner of Norilsk Nickel, to pay for the full cleanup costs. The company was subsequently fined nearly 150 billion rubles (approximately 2 billion USD), the largest environmental penalty in Russian history.
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