SEVASTOPOL, December 18. /TASS/. Satellite monitoring data show that fuel oil continues to leak from a tanker that crashed in the Black Sea near the Kerch Strait and spread towards the coast of the Krasnodar Region, a senior marine scientist told TASS.
"It [fuel oil] continues to leak out from the part of the vessel that remains at the accident site. We see it [on satellite images]," Sergey Stranichny said.
He noted that the oil is spreading to the east due to strong winds.
The senior marine scientist added that it is still impossible to estimate the amount of oil that has already spilled. One of the reasons for this is the difficult weather conditions.
The Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 tankers crashed on December 15. One sailor died and the rest were evacuated. According to the rescuers, the tankers were carrying about 9,200 tons of fuel oil. The Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport reported that an oil spill had occurred in the Black Sea as a result of the accident. Satellite monitoring data indicated that a total od 3,000 tons of fuel oil leaked.