On December 15, 2024, two Russian tankers crashed in the Kerch Strait. The accident could have caused between 2,500 and 4,500 tons of fuel oil to spill into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
Greenpeace Ukraine immediately stated that the incident threatened to be a long-term environmental disaster with severe consequences.
As of January 9, 2025, fuel oil pollution is observed from occupied Kerch to the western coast of Crimea, and has been detected even near Yalta, Sevastopol, and Yevpatoria. According to media reports, the total area of pollution may reach 1000 square kilometers. This includes spots on the surface, a film, and pollution of the coastline of varying intensity.
We cannot confirm or deny the information provided by the Russian authorities on the volume of spilled fuel oil or its grade (declared as M100), but the nature of the pollution and the fact that in 2007 a mixture of M100 fuel oil varieties was spilled during a similar accident suggests that it may still be M100 furnace oil, the heaviest grade. Its peculiarity is that it does not stay on the surface but quickly sinks to the bottom, where it is technically impossible to neutralize. If it is not promptly removed from the surface, it remains to wait until it is biodegraded by marine microorganisms. This can take decades.
There have already been reports of more than 32 cetaceans (mostly harbor porpoise) that may have died due to the effects of fuel oil pollution. This is an unusually high number for this season and the death toll may be rising.
There are also reports of thousands of dead and injured birds whose feathers are impaired due to the pollution, which affects their ability to fly and provide thermal insulation. During attempts to clean the feathers, fuel oil enters the bird’s digestive system, causing poisoning. Given that after the 2007 accident, 12,000-30,000 dead birds were recorded over a much smaller area, the actual numbers may be much higher today.
As fuel oil sinks to the bottom, it accumulates in filter-feeding organisms (e.g., mussels, and other mollusks), poisons benthic organisms (e.g., crustaceans and algae) and fish that feed on these benthic organisms (e.g., gobies), and then affects higher levels of the food chain through poisoning with harmful organic compounds and heavy metals. The experience of other oil spills suggests possible mass extinctions of benthic fauna, fish, birds and marine mammals, as well as cases where the environment remained toxic for up to 30 years.
The consequences of this ecological disaster had to be immediately eliminated, which the Russian occupiers failed to do properly, showing at least criminal inaction. The catastrophe could have been prevented by drawing conclusions from the 2007 accident and removing outdated river tankers from use at sea. Today, Russia uses the same outdated tankers in the Baltic Sea to transport oil in violation of sanctions. This so-called shadow fleet, which helps finance the war against Ukraine, could cause an equally large-scale incident in the seas that surround Europe.
The EU should add the “shadow fleet” to the sanctions lists as soon as possible, as such accidents may become commonplace on the coasts of European countries in the near future.
Photo Ivan Rusev
