Fuel oil from Russian tankers washes up on the coast of Odesa region – video
Pollution resembling fuel oil has again been detected on the Black Sea coast in the village of Zatoka, Odesa region. The State Environmental Inspection of the South-Western District does not rule out that it may be linked to the fuel oil spill from the Russian tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, which were involved in an accident in December 2024.
The inspection reported the incident and released video showing the pollution.
On 28 November, state inspectors together with experts from the Ukrainian Scientific Centre for Marine Ecology (USCME) found dark streaks on the sand. The pollution is confined to the sandy part of the coastline and stretches for about one kilometre. Samples of seawater and pollutants have been collected for laboratory testing.
Ecologist Vladyslav Balinsky believes the substance is most likely fuel oil residue carried ashore by currents after strong storms. According to him, a significant amount of petroleum products remains on the seabed at the site of the tanker accident, which was never isolated, and fuel oil continues to leak.
Balinsky says three large fragments of the tanker wreckage that still contain petroleum products are underwater. He warns that fuel oil leaks will drive “marine processes,” especially during the warm season. Most of the remaining fuel oil—thousands of tonnes—is located west of Anapa (Russian Federation).
The collected oil products must be removed from the shoreline and taken to specialised facilities for disposal.
As a reminder, on 15 December 2024, the Russian tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 sank near the Kerch Strait, spilling more than 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil into the Black Sea.
According to the Ukrainian Navy, the tankers were old and departed without meeting navigation requirements. Oil products from the spill have already been detected along the southern coast of temporarily occupied Crimea.
After the accident, 61 dead cetaceans were found; the deaths of 32 are likely linked to the fuel oil spill.
