Authorities in Russia have said two Russian oil tankers have been badly damaged in the Black Sea, leaking oil.
Footage released by Russia’s Southern Transport Prosecutor’s Office shows a tanker’s bow completely broken, with streaks of oil visible in the water.
The two tankers are believed to have drifted before they could run ashore. According to reports, one crew member was killed.
The incident took place in the Kerch Strait, which separates Russia from Crimea – the Ukrainian peninsula illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.
A rescue operation involving tugboats, helicopters and more than 50 personnel rescued 13 crew members from a tanker before it was suspended due to bad weather.
The 14 remaining crew members on board the other tanker are said to have “everything necessary for immediate life support” on board, but appear to be stranded until conditions improve.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered the creation of a working group to deal with the incident, to be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Saveliev – and authorities are investigating criminal negligence.
Michel Bockman, an analyst at shipping industry journal Lloyd’s List, told the BBC that both vessels were owned by the Volgatanker company and were relatively small.
Each of them carried 4,300 deadweight tons of oil, Russian officials quoted Tass news agency as saying.
Bockman said that a tanker used to trade Russian crude oil internationally would typically have a maximum carrying capacity of about 120,000 deadweight tons, meaning that the tankers would have to travel through Russia’s rivers or coasts. were used to transport oil across the waters.
The Kerch Strait is an important route for Russian grain exports and is also used for crude oil, fuel oil and liquefied natural gas exports.
In 2007, another oil tanker – Volgoneft-139 – split in half during a storm while anchored off the Kerch Strait, spilling more than 1,000 tonnes of oil.
Ukraine’s allies have imposed heavy restrictions on Russian oil imports since the Kremlin ordered a massive invasion of the country in February 2022.
In recent years, Russia has been accused of moving oil and using a so-called ghost fleet of tankers, often poorly maintained and not properly insured, to evade sanctions – although Bockman said that it does not appear that tankers were involved in Sunday’s incident. Part of this fleet.
Additional reporting by Joshua Cheatham