Russian state media reported on Monday that two Russian ships damaged in stormy weather over the weekend spilled about 3,700 tons (3,350 tons) of low-quality fuel into the Kerch Strait in the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula, threatening an environmental disaster in the region. Hotspot for biodiversity.
The ships were carrying about 9,200 tons (8,300 tons) of mazut – a heavy, low-quality petroleum product mainly used in power plants. The tankers were on their way to deliver fuel to the Russian Navy amid the Russian war on Ukraine when they got stuck due to bad weather and collapsed on Sunday. Russian authorities said that at least one crew member of one of the ships died in the storm.
Environmental experts have sounded the alarm over what they say could be difficult to contain the spill, with videos emerging of oiled birds and stretches of black beaches. Ukraine, which claims the region as its own, accused Moscow of violating naval rules by using old ships, and called for international sanctions on Russia.
Here’s what we know about how the disaster happened and how occurring during war could mean much worse impacts on the environment.
What happened?
Two Russian tankers were damaged during a severe storm in the Kerch Strait on Sunday, according to Russian officials.
One of the tankers, the 133-metre-long Volgunft 212, was carrying a crew of 15 and a cargo of fuel oil when it ran aground and its nose was torn off by a large wave, Russia’s TASS news agency reported. In a video posted on social media, he appeared to be plunging vertically into the sea. Videos also showed black streaks of oil from the tanker as it sank.
Russian authorities launched a large-scale rescue operation on Sunday following the two accidents. One crew member died in the storm, but the rescue team was able to evacuate the others to a clinic where they were treated for hypothermia.
Separately, a second loaded tanker, the 132-metre-long Volgunft 239, was damaged in the same storm on Sunday and ran aground 80 meters from shore, near the port of Taman in Russia’s Krasnodar region. All 14 crew members of that ship were rescued.
The Kerch Strait, where the incidents occurred, separates the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula from the Russian mainland, and is an important global shipping route linking ships moving between the Sea of ​​Azov and the Black Sea. The region has been a flashpoint between Russia and Ukraine since Moscow forcefully annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Kiev has accused Russia over the years of harassing its ships and excluding local fishermen.
In 2016, Ukraine dragged Russia into the Permanent Court of Arbitration — which focuses on alternative solutions to disputes between states — over allegations that Moscow is violating Kiev’s coastal rights in the Black Sea, Sea of ​​Azov and the Kerch Strait. The case is still ongoing and the last hearing was in September 2024.
How did the Russian authorities respond to the oil spill?
On Monday, President Vladimir Putin ordered officials from the Emergencies and Environment Ministries to handle the rescue operation and reduce damage caused by the fuel leak, according to his spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The authorities have since opened two criminal cases to determine whether the ship’s crew violated safety rules and caused the accidents. State media reported that environmental experts were also assessing levels of environmental damage, but had not yet submitted a report.
Russian authorities initially claimed that the spilled oil did not reach the shore. However, by Tuesday evening, footage on social media showed vast areas of the beach covered in oily black mud. The footage also showed water birds, whose bodies turned black due to the oil, walking on the beaches.
“We will remove all of this even though on the surface it looks scary from the point of view that these are petroleum products,” Veniamin Kondratyev, governor of the Krasnodar region, told reporters on Tuesday, speaking from part of the damaged beach. “It’s removable, everything is removable.”
What does Ukraine accuse Russia of?
Ukrainian officials have accused Moscow of recklessly violating naval operating rules by deploying aging “shadow fleet” ships notorious for operating outside maritime laws.
Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the chief of staff of President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote on X that the disaster was one of the worst ever recorded in the Black Sea. He added that the damaged ships are more than 50 years old and are unable to withstand winter storms.
“Most of the more than 1,000 tankers in the Russian Shadow Fleet are hopelessly old, have fake insurance documents, hide their real owners, and often overload oil at sea,” he added, adding that more large-scale incidents like this would have been the case. “inevitable” and that neighboring countries will bear the cost.
The politician also called on countries to prevent Russian tankers from entering their waters.
Analysts found that Russia’s “shadow fleet” includes an estimated 500 to 1,000 tankers that often lack proper insurance, have no clear ownership and frequently change their names and flag registrations in violation of maritime rules.
The ships engage in risky ship-to-ship transfers such as oil, allowing Russia to circumvent trade sanctions imposed by Western countries over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to investigations by the US think tank, the Atlantic Council. The sanctions impose a cap of $60 per barrel on Russian oil, meaning that even if it is worth more, buyers in the European Union and around the world are prohibited from paying more. The point here is to reduce Putin’s oil revenues.
In October 2023, two-thirds of tankers carrying Russian crude oil were listed as having “unknown” insurance, the Atlantic Council found.
The think tank concluded that because Shadow Fleet ships are often uninsured, they are poorly maintained and tend to malfunction.
On Monday, the European Union blacklisted 52 ships, saying they were part of Putin’s shadow fleet and were involved in transporting stolen Russian oil, military equipment and Ukrainian grain. In total, the Union has banned 79 ships of this type since 2022.
How will an oil spill affect the environment?
Natalia Guzak, who leads the Ukraine branch of environmental organization Greenpeace, told Al Jazeera that the oil spill has contaminated at least 60 kilometers (37 miles) of coastline, greatly affecting parts of Anapa, a town in the Krasnodar region.
She added that several towns declared a state of emergency due to the death of birds.
“Local residents have already posted dozens of videos of diesel splashes and birds trapped in it along the seashore near Anapa,” Juzak said. In one video posted on Telegram, local residents bathed a black bird that appeared to be a duck, in an attempt to remove the oil.
Guzak said Russia was “putting the local ecosystem at risk” with its Shadow Fleet ships, and said Sunday’s incident was a “warning sign” of the larger problem posed by the ships.
The area is home to several species of dolphins and birds. Environmental researcher Alexander Ranković, director of the Joint Initiative Environmental Research Center, told Al Jazeera that these animals have already been affected by chemical pollution and the impact of previous disasters.
For example, in November 2007, a Russian oil tanker crashed in the Kerch Strait and leaked 1,200 to 1,600 tons of oil.
“Large quantities of heavy fuel oil mixed with algae were found on the beaches, which led to the death of thousands of birds, which were the most affected species,” Rankovic said.
Heavy layers of petroleum products have settled on the seafloor, destroying the seafloor organisms that form the food base of many species of fish, gobies and mullet.
However, Rankovic said, coordination between Ukrainian and Russian experts at the time helped ensure a joint disaster response, an unlikely approach given the war between the two countries.
“The question for me is how the current conflict will hinder the rapid response needed to prevent further spills and quickly clean the beaches when pollution reaches them,” Rankovic said. “It is urgent to prevent further leakage, and to prevent chronic leakage that could occur in the future.”
Were there other environmental disasters amid the Russian-Ukrainian war?
Yes. In June 2023, the Ukrainian Nova Kakhovka Dam, located on the Dnipro River in the Ukrainian city of Kherson, was bombed.
The dam exploded and caused widespread flooding in the Russian-controlled city. About 100,000 people were forced to leave their homes as the water levels rose rapidly. Officials said about 30,000 animals were killed, and species such as herons and little egrets were wiped out in what they called “ecocide.”
Analysts estimated Ukraine’s direct economic losses at about $4 billion.
Experts said the damage was likely caused by Russian forces deliberately blowing up the dam to impede the Ukrainian advance. However, Russian forces denied responsibility.
The 30-metre-high, two-kilometre-long dam once powered a major hydroelectric station in the area and contains a reservoir of about 18 cubic kilometers of water that supplies water to communities and farms. It also supplied cooling water to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
The resulting widespread flooding destroyed the hydroelectric power station and carried water into the homes of Kherson residents. People lost access to water, gas and electricity for several days.
Does the environment in general suffer more during times of war?
Yes. Armed conflict imposes taxes on the environment. Armies tend to clear areas of vegetation to remove cover in which enemy fighters can hide. Bombs and mines pollute soil and waterways and emit toxic gases.
In Ukraine, large areas of land are likely contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance, according to the United Nations. Removing these landmines is likely to cost the country $34.6 billion.
In Gaza, the United Nations says the territory’s soil and water have suffered “total degradation” due to a combination of bombing and the collapse of sewage and waste systems while under Israeli bombardment over the past 14 months. Millions of tons of destroyed building debris also contain dangerous unexploded ordnance and asbestos.
These conditions are associated with a higher incidence of respiratory infections. In the three months following October 7, 2023, when the war on Gaza began, the World Health Organization reported 179,000 cases of acute respiratory infection. Cases of diarrhea among children under the age of five are also on the rise, due to infection through contaminated food or water.
Most notably, Gaza recorded new cases of the deadly polio virus in August 2024, 25 years after it was eradicated from the Strip. Medical experts say its resurgence is directly linked to the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure. The virus can cause irreversible paralysis within hours, and global efforts to eradicate it have continued for decades.
