MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. The recent shipwreck of two oil tankers in the Kerch Strait caused a partial oil leak, and final steps to clear it are currently underway, the Russian government said in a statement.

"Fuel oil leaked into the sea after the tankers were wrecked, and it is now drifting towards the coast between Cape Panagiya and Tuzla Spit. According to preliminary estimates, not all of the oil products leaked. Experts plan to survey the shipwreck area by helicopter," the statement reads.

The cabinet emphasized that experts from the Russian Transport Ministry’s Agency of Sea and River Transport, the Emergencies Ministry, and other agencies were completing preparations to clear the fuel oil spill.

Some of the fuel oil containers remained intact after the two tankers were wrecked in the Black Sea during a heavy storm, an emergency official told TASS. According to emergency agencies, the two vessels were carrying a total of 9,200 metric tons of fuel oil.

On December 15, the Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 oil tankers were wrecked in a storm. The Volgoneft-212’s bow was torn off and the vessel ran aground. One of its 13 crew members was killed, and the others were evacuated. All 14 crew members of the Volgoneft-239 were evacuated on December 16.