The cleanup operation in the Kerch Strait, where oil tankers met with an accident on November 11, has entered the second week, Itar-Tass reports.
"More than 8,000 tons of oil products mixed with silt, soil and water have been collected since the beginning of relief efforts. The rescue operation is centered on Tuzla Spit, Chushka Spit and the Ilych village. "The authorities have set the task of finishing the bulk of works to eliminate the consequences of the oil spill within the next two or three days," a representative of the crisis headquarters told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
Earlier, deputy director of the Rosprirodnadzor Federal Service for Supervision of Nature Resources Oleg Mitvol said "up to 10,00 tones of fuel oil dirt might be on the coast."
Some 2,000 people are involved in the operation to scoop up the fuel oil that spilt from the Volgoneft-139 vessel, including specialists of the Kubanspas search and rescue unit, Black Sea Fleet marines, borderguards and students and volunteers from working collectives of Krasnodar, Novorossiisk and Temryuk," the crisis headquarters official said.
Last night was quite frosty, with temperatures dipping to minus 3 degrees Celsius. Gusts of wind on the coast reached a velocity of 18 metes per second. In the afternoon, ambient temperatures in the area range are expected to rise to four to six degrees Celsius.
Adverse weather conditions have stalled the salvage operation on the bow of the Volgoneft-139 shipwreck, where an estimated 1,000 tons of fuel oil remain.
The beginning of operation is planned for November 21.
On Monday, Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov assured President Vladimir Putin that the clean-up work in the KerchStrait was proceeding together with Ukraine.
“All work has been well coordinated with Ukraine,” the prime minister said.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko ordered the government to take urgent measures for cleaning up the aftermath of the Sunday gale in the Black and Azov seas.
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich formed a crisis management centre to coordinate the cleanup of the fuel oil spill and ensure the resumption of power supplies to the Crimea. The president said that the government must focus on ecology in the disaster area.
The Novorossiisk transport prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case over the fuel oil spill from the Volganeft 139 tanker on the charges of pollution and violation of navigation safety rules. “Apart from bad weather, the accident might have been caused by the captain’s mistake,” the office said. The southern transport prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case, as well, on the pollution charges. The prosecutors will evaluate the conduct of captains and the seaport administration, office representative Yelena Velikova told Tass.
The first storm warning was issued at 5:15 p.m. Moscow time on November 10, said Novorossiisk Transport Prosecutor Maxim Stepanenko. “All the captains had enough time for leaving the danger zone. It is hard to say anything until the crews and their leaders are questioned,” he said.
The November 11 storm scattered dozens of vessels in the Kerch Strait. A number of shipwrecks caused the spill of about 3,000 tonnes of fuel oil into the water.
It is impossible to say who is responsible for shipwrecks in the Kerch Strait – Russia or Ukraine, Deputy Director of the federal nature usage watchdog Oleg Mitvol said. He referred to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s statement saying that Russia must repay the damages to Ukraine.
Ukraine expects Russia to compensate the damage done by fuel oil spill in the Kerch Strait, First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Ogryzko said at the first meeting of the interstate working group that supervises the disaster cleanup.
“The owners of the vessel shall be responsible for the accident and losses,” he said. “We are expecting Russia to compensate the damage.”
“We were anticipating Ukrainian financial claims sooner or later. It is a major environmental problem, and we should assess the conduct of the Kerch maritime administration from the point of view of the international law,” Mitvol said.
“The Kerch maritime administration did not permit vessels to reach a safe harbour when waves enlarged to five meters. In fact, the Volganeft 123 tanker breached the navigation rules and moved to a safe place without permission. The captain thus rescued his crew and his ship. Other ships abided by the demand of the Kerch maritime administration and sank. As a result, we are facing serious ecological problems. I would view the situation from this angle,” Mitvol said.
“When the question of payment arises, Russia will show its strong side, as well. International lawyers and courts will say who was guilty,” he said.
The Azov-Black Sea department of the Russian Fishery Agency estimated the fishing industry losses from the Kerch Strait gale at 300 billion roubles. These are just preliminary estimates, and the final sum may be much larger. Fish-processing plants have also sustained losses: they will be idle as long as the fishing ban remains in effect in the Kerch Strait.