Work continues in the Kerch Strait to eliminate the consequences of the shipwreck of the "Volgoneft" tankers. Specialists from Morspassluzhba examined 586 km² of water area and did not detect fuel oil leaks from the sunken fragments, the Ministry of Transport reported.
The department emphasized that divers are working in difficult conditions, visibility underwater is now a maximum of 30 to 70 centimeters. Dives are periodically suspended due to high waves and worsening weather.
At the moment, all surveys show that there are no fuel oil leaks from the sunken fragments. In parallel with this, preparations are underway to start trial pumping of petroleum products using the installation previously delivered to Novorossiysk. It was assembled and its operability was carefully checked. The next step will be loading onto a vessel with access to the place where the fragments of the tankers sank.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations added that almost 70 thousand tons of contaminated soil were collected from the Kuban coast.
New areas of oil product emissions have been discovered on the pebble beach near the "High Bank" beach up to the 22nd pier. 7 km of coastline in the Temryuk district have been cleaned. Contaminated soil is collected and removed from 63 km.
The owner of the "Volgoneft-212" tanker noted that after a complete study of the vessel, a conclusion will be drawn about the technical capabilities of the project to raise the remaining debris.
There are many factors, including underwater conditions. Of course, we will try to do it as quickly as possible.
The Ministry of Transport noted that the owner of the "Volgoneft-239" tanker has legally confirmed that he assumes responsibility for the lifting and disposal of the vessel. A written confirmation is expected from the owner of "Volgoneft-212" that the work will be organized, the department added.
The authorities of the Krasnodar Territory will allocate 1.2 billion rubles to eliminate the oil spill, the corresponding order was signed by the Governor of the Krasnodar Territory Veniamin Kondratyev.
First of all, the contaminated soil will be removed and disposed of with disinfection at specialized enterprises. The volume of soil to be disposed of may be up to 200 thousand tons, according to the assessment of the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation Alexander Kozlov.
During the storm on December 15, the tankers "Volgoneft 212" and "Volgoneft 239" crashed in the Kerch Strait, 27 sailors were evacuated, one of them died.
The tankers were carrying about 9.2 thousand tons of fuel oil, about 40% of the fuel leaked into the sea. A federal emergency situation was introduced in the Krasnodar Territory. Volunteers and rescuers collect contaminated soil on the shore, specialists remove the oil-water mixture from the water area and treat it with sorbent.
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A state of high alert has been introduced in Kuban due to the fuel oil spill in the Kerch Strait
The tankers "Volgoneft-239" and "Volgoneft-212" crashed in the Kerch Strait