Two Russian oil tankers sank in the Black Sea’s Kerch Strait

Two Russian oil tankers have been badly damaged in the Black Sea, which has caused an oil spill, according to the authorities in Russia.

Footage released by Russia’s Southern Transport Prosecutor’s Office showed the bow of a tanker completely broken off, with streaks of oil visible in the water.

Both tankers are believed to have drifted before they ran aground offshore. At least one crew member was reportedly 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 crew saw 13 crew rescued from a tanker before being suspended due to bad weather.

The 14 remaining crew members aboard the second tanker are said to have “everything necessary for immediate life-saving” on board, but appear to be stranded until conditions improve.

President Vladimir Putin has ordered a task force to be set up to deal with the incident, led by Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev – and authorities are investigating for criminal negligence.

Michelle Bockmann, an analyst at the shipping industry magazine Lloyd’s List, told the BBC that the two ships are owned by the company Volgatanker and were relatively small.

They had been carrying about 4,300 deadweight tonnes of oil each, according to Russian officials quoted by the Tass news agency.

A tanker used for international trade of Russian crude oil generally has a much larger cargo capacity of about 120,000 deadweight tons, Bockmann said, meaning it is likely that these tankers were used to transport oil through Russia’s rivers or in coastal waters.

The Kerch Strait is a key route for the export of Russian grain, and it is also used for the export of crude oil, fuel oil and liquefied natural gas.

In 2007, another oil tanker – the Volgoneft-139 – broke in two during a storm while anchored off the Kerch Strait, spilling more than 1,000 tons of oil.

Russian oil imports have been heavily sanctioned by Ukraine’s allies since the Kremlin ordered a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.

In recent years, Russia has been accused of using a so-called ghost fleet of tankers, often poorly maintained and lacking proper insurance, to move oil and circumvent sanctions – although Bockmann said it does not appear that the tankers involved in Sunday’s incident was part of this fleet.

Additional reporting by Joshua Cheetham