Russian scientists criticize cleanup efforts after oil spill in Black Sea | Russia

Russian scientists have criticized efforts to clean up oil washed ashore from two oil tankers in the Black Sea, saying it lacks adequate equipment.

On December 15, two Russian oil tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, were hit by a storm in the Kerch Strait, one sinking and the other running aground.

The strait separates southern Russia from the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

The ships were carrying 9,200 tonnes of fuel oil, of which around 40% may have been spilled into the sea, according to Russian authorities.

President Vladimir Putin last week called it an “ecological disaster”.

Thousands of volunteers were mobilized to remove oily sand from nearby beaches. But scientists say the volunteers don’t have the necessary equipment.

“There are no bulldozers there, no trucks. Practically no heavy machinery,” said Viktor Danilov-Danilyan at a press conference.

Danilov-Danilyan is the scientific director of the Water Problems Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and served as Russia’s environment minister in the 1990s.

The volunteers only have “shovels and useless plastic bags that break”, he said.

“While the bags are waiting to finally be collected, storms come and they end up back in the sea. It is unthinkable!”

Public criticism of the authorities is rare in Russia.

Up to 200,000 tonnes of sand may have been contaminated with oil, Russia’s natural resources minister said on Monday.

Almost 30,000 tons have already been collected, Krasnodar Region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Wednesday.

Sergei Otakh, a professor at the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, said the oil could soon reach the shores of Crimea.

“No one should have any illusions that it will remain clean,” he said, calling for swift action.

The oil spill may have killed 21 dolphins, the Delfa Dolphin Rescue Center said, although further tests were needed to confirm the cause of death.