Russian tanker wrecks in the Black Sea: fuel oil collected in Odesa region, washed ashore

Fuel oil that washed ashore after the Russian oil tanker accident in the Black Sea. Photo: Ivan Rusev

In Odesa region, employees of the Tuzly Estuaries National Nature Park have collected up to four kilograms of fuel oil that washed ashore after the accident of Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea. The coast is currently clean.

According to Ivan Rusev, head of the national park's research department, about 40 kilometres of coastline were surveyed in three days, and the collected fuel oil was sent for examination.

«Within the national park, we found one area 200 metres long and 30-70 centimetres wide of fuel oil of small fractions of 3-4 millimetres, freshly dumped on Sunday. Samples were taken for testing in Odesa at the private professional laboratory of Vlad Balinskyi», he said.

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He is convinced that there is no guarantee that the fuel oil will not wash ashore again. After all, millions of small fractions are still drifting in the waters of the north-western Black Sea.

«We need resources to quickly identify, urgently collect and destroy this threat, and the national park simply does not have them», the ecologist is convinced.

In addition, a rare bird from the Red Data Book of Ukraine, the Red-throated Loon, washed ashore, contaminated with fuel oil.

Employees collect fuel oil that washed ashore after the Russian oil tanker accident in the Black Sea. Photo: Ivan Rusev

The coastline cleared of fuel oil. Photo: Ivan Rusev

At the same time, the State Environmental Inspectorate is confident that manual collection is the most effective method of cleaning the coastline.

«Although this process requires considerable effort, it has an important advantage — selectivity. Workers using hand tools can focus only on contaminated areas, minimising the loss of clean sand. As a result, the coastline suffers less damage and is restored faster», the agency said.

Earlier it was reported that after the storms, fuel oil was spilled onto the sandy embankment in the recreational area of «Katranka» near the Danube Biosphere Reserve and «Tuzla Estuary».

The accident of Russian tankers

As a reminder, on 15 December 2024, near Cape Panagia in the Kerch Strait , the «Volgoneft» tanker ran aground, and 4 tonnes of fuel oil could have leaked into the sea. Later it became known that another tanker, the «Volgoneft-239», began to sink next. Its hull broke into two parts after being hit by a wave.

The leakage of fuel oil from two Russian tankers in the Black Sea caused a large-scale environmental disaster. The damage caused to the Black Sea ecosystem exceeds $14 billion.

Animal rights activists have recorded 32 deaths of cetaceans, including whales, dolphins and porpoises, following the accident with two Russian oil tankers «Volgoneft-212» and «Volgoneft-239». The deaths are most likely related to the fuel oil spill, which has already reached Feodosia, Alushta and Sudak.