KRASNODAR, December 17. /TASS/. Spilled oil has washed up along dozens of kilometers of the Black Sea coast of south Russia’s Krasnodar Region after two tankers were badly damaged in a storm on December 15, regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Tuesday.

"Inspectors found oil clumps along the shoreline this morning. Oil washed ashore for several dozens of kilometers - it had been found along the coast from the settlement of Veselovka in the Temryuksky district to the settlement of Blagoveshchenskaya near the city of Anapa," Kondratyev reported on his Telegram channel.

Operational headquarters have urgently begun their work in both municipalities, the governor specified.

"Groups from the regional detachment Kuban-Spas and the Russian Emergencies Ministry were sent to eliminate the consequences [of the oil spill], and I am grateful to the volunteers who also came to help. As many as 267 people and 50 units of equipment from the operational services are now working on the site. We will increase the number of forces and resources if necessary," he added.

On December 15, the Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239 oil tankers were damaged 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. The deceased was a watch sailor, a 23-year-old native of Astrakhan. The investigative agencies have initiated two criminal cases. All 14 crew members of the Volgoneft 239 were evacuated later on December 16. Russian President Vladimir Putin gave orders on organizing rescue operations in the Kerch Strait. Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin established a working group to address the consequences of the incident.

The disaster resulted in a fuel oil leak into the Black Sea waters, the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport reported. Earlier, experts told TASS that the oil slick threatening aquatic and coastal ecosystems was drifting northward. After reaching the Kerch Strait, it began moving toward the coast of the Krasnodar Region. Later satellite images showed another group of oil slicks located to the southeast of the scene, not far from the Temryuksky district and the resort city of Anapa. Earlier it was reported that the two tankers carried a total of about 9,000 tons of oil. Satellite monitoring data indicated a spill of about 3,000 tons of the product.