The company Kama Shipping LLC, which owns the Volgoneft-212 tanker that crashed near the Kerch Strait, claims that the emergency was caused by force majeure circumstances in the form of a storm.
Oleg Nakaryakov, a representative of the company, emphasized in the Arbitration Court of the Krasnodar Territory that the accident was not related to the vessel being in this area outside the navigation season.
According to him, the tanker sank on December 15 due to a powerful storm, when the vessel could not withstand the load. At the same time, the crew repeatedly requested permission to leave the danger zone, but the captain of the Kavkaz sea port refused due to the accumulation of other vessels and the lack of unloading possibilities.
The company claims that it took measures to prevent the accident, corresponded with the charterer and sought permission for a one-time passage through the Kerch Strait.
The Novorossiysk Transport Prosecutor's Office filed several lawsuits in court to bring the shipowners of tankers that were in the prohibited water area after the end of the navigation season to administrative responsibility. Among them are the companies Kama Shipping (tankers Volgoneft-212 and Prikamye) and Volgatransneft (tankers Volgoneft-109, Volgoneft-239 and Volgoneft-270).
In February, the court had already found both companies guilty of violating technical regulations. Kama Shipping was fined 30 thousand rubles, and Volgatransneft was fined 300 thousand rubles for each of the three tankers.
The crash of the tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 occurred on December 15, 2024. The latter vessel broke in the area of the third and fourth tanks (liquid storage tanks) and sank. At the end of January 2025, specialists began dismantling the stern of the tanker. The work is scheduled to be completed by March 31.
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