Russia has declared a state of emergency – the Russian authorities have declared a state of emergency in connection with the leak of fuel oil into the Kerch Strait, which was confirmed by news agencies on Thursday, citing a statement from the Ministry of Emergency Situations. This incident caused a major ecological disaster.

The leak occurred on December 15, when a storm damaged two Russian tankers, releasing thousands of tons of oil into the Black Sea. The pollution affected beaches over a length of 55 km, especially in the area of ​​the Anapa resort in the Krasnodar Krai.

A state of emergency was declared at the federal level to enable the transfer of “necessary financial assistance (…) from the Russian government fund.” Earlier, a regional state of emergency was declared the day before this announcement.

Viktor Danilov-Danilan, an expert from the Russian Academy of Sciences and former Minister of Environmental Protection, estimated that at least 200,000 were contaminated. tons of soil. During a news conference on Wednesday, he warned that pollution would get worse.

Fuel oil remains in the sea in significant quantities. It will continue to wash up on the already cleared shore. Further cleaning activities will be necessary. We need to prepare for this, said the scientist, quoted by the Moscow Times website.

Russia has declared a state of emergency – Rescue operations

The Ministry of Emergency Situations announced that it is currently monitoring a 220 km long coast. About 30,000 tons of contaminated sand were removed from the beaches, and an area of ​​about 5 square kilometers along the coastline was cleaned in the port of Anapa. More than 10,000 people were involved in the rescue operation, including volunteers who saved 1,154 seabirds.

Experts criticized the authorities for lacking appropriate equipment and relying on volunteers. – There are no bulldozers or trucks. There is practically no heavy equipment, he emphasized. – Volunteers only have shovels and useless plastic bags that tear. While the bags are waiting to be taken away, storms come and the bags end up back in the sea. This is unthinkable!

During his annual press conference last week, Vladimir Putin blamed the tanker captains for the disaster, stressing that they had gone to sea without the appropriate permits.

Kerch Strait

Wikipedia says: “The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia’s Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi) to 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) wide and up to 18 metres (59 ft) deep. The most important harbor, the Crimean city of Kerch, gives its name to the strait, formerly known as the Cimmerian Bosporus or Straits of Taman. It has also been called the Straits of Yenikale after the Yeni-Kale fortress in Kerch.”

Kerch–Yenikale Canal

Wikipedia: “In order to improve navigational capabilities of the Strait of Kerch, which is quite shallow in its narrowest point, the Kerch–Yenikale Canal was dredged through the strait. The main channel can accommodate vessels up to 215 meters long with a draft of up to 8 meters with a compulsory pilot assistance. The canal is not straight, and its geometry further complicates safe navigation. The narrowness, limited depth, and turns of the main channel together with the often unpredictable effects of wind and visibility (fog) mean that there are strict procedures regulating strait transit. Transit of large vessels occurs on a one-way (alternating) group convoy basis. Transit procedures have remained unchanged, whether under Soviet, Ukrainian, or Russian jurisdiction. The Vessel Traffic Control Post in Kerch controls and oversees all traffic.”