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Sevastopol declares regional emergency after oil spill reaches city’s shoreline

According to the Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev, he appointed himself in charge of a task force to deal with the situation

SEVASTOPOL, January 4. /TASS/. Sevastopol declared a regional emergency after oil spilled out from two damaged tankers reached the city’s coastline, Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said.

"I emphasize this: There’s no mass pollution of the coastline in Sevastopol, but traces of the fuel oil are being found in a variety of places and we clean them up as a matter of urgency," the Sevastopol governor wrote on Telegram.

According to the official, he appointed himself in charge of a task force to deal with the situation. A slick of the low-grade fuel oil from the tankers was first detected near Sevastopol on January 3.

When the Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 tankers wrecked in the Kerch Strait, they were carrying about 9,200 tons of fuel oil, according to emergency management officials. The Russian Transport Ministry estimated that about 2,400 tons of the oil product spilled out.