Work continues in the Kerch Strait to eliminate the consequences of the "Volgoneft" tankers shipwreck. 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 agency emphasized that divers are working in difficult conditions, with underwater visibility currently at a maximum of 30 to 70 centimeters. Dives are periodically suspended due to high waves and worsening weather.
Currently, all surveys show that there are no fuel oil leaks from the sunken fragments. In parallel, preparations are underway to begin trial pumping of petroleum products using the unit previously delivered to Novorossiysk. It has been assembled and thoroughly tested for operability. The next step will be loading it onto a vessel for departure to the location where the tanker fragments sank.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations added that almost 70,000 tons of contaminated soil have been collected from the Kuban coast.
New areas of oil product discharge have been discovered on the pebble beach near the "Vysoky Bereg" beach up to the 22nd pier. 7 km of coastline have been cleaned in the Temryuk district. Contaminated soil is being collected and removed from 63 km.
The owner of the "Volgoneft-212" tanker noted that after a full survey of the vessel, a conclusion will be drawn about the technical feasibility of the project to raise the remaining debris.
There are many factors involved, 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 they are taking responsibility for the raising and disposal of the vessel. Written confirmation is expected from the owner of "Volgoneft-212" that the work will be organized, the agency 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 200,000 tons, according to an assessment by 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 area, 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 are collecting contaminated soil on the shore, specialists are removing the oil-water mixture from the water area and treating it with sorbent.
Read more on the topic:
A state of high alert has been introduced in Kuban due to the fuel oil spill in the Kerch Strait
The "Volgoneft-239" and "Volgoneft-212" tankers crashed in the Kerch Strait
