Fuel oil from Russian tankers is now covering the bottom of the Black Sea

Environmental disaster in the Kerch Strait. Photo from Facebook.

Fuel oil from tankers that crashed in the Kerch Strait has polluted the Black Sea. According to scientists, due to low temperatures, the fuel oil has gathered in clots that now cover the bottom of the reservoir.

This was reported by the State Environmental Inspectorate of the South-Western District.

According to experts, these clots pose a serious threat to the benthos, an ecological community of organisms living on the bottom.

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«The benthos includes bacteria, plants, invertebrates, mollusks, crustaceans, polychaetes, etc. Fuel oil clots block the access of oxygen to the bottom, disrupting the normal functioning of organisms and causing their massive death. In addition, fuel oil fractions dissolved in water have a negative impact on zooplankton and phytoplankton, which are the main source of food for small fish. This impact can cause a chain reaction, which will lead to significant disruptions in the food chain and catastrophic consequences for the Black Sea fish fauna», the environmentalists say.

According to the scientists, even on a small scale, a violation of the ecological balance can have unpredictable consequences, so this situation requires global attention.

Earlier it was reported that fuel oil spilled as a result of the Russian tanker accident in the Black Sea could reach the coasts of Odesa and Mykolaiv.

Russian tanker accident

As a reminder, on 15 December, 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.