MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the situation following an oil spill from distressed tankers in the Black Sea as an environmental disaster.

"First, this is an environmental disaster. This is obvious. Law enforcement bodies will give an assessment of the actions of the ships’ captains. I was informed that the captains violated regulations by not taking shelter in time. Some vessels did take shelter, and they are fine. And these ones did not. Moreover, they anchored where they shouldn’t have," he said at his combined annual press conference and question-and-answer session.

He noted that clean-up operations are currently complicated by unfavorable weather conditions. "A 4-5-point storm continued yesterday, making it very difficult to work. But, as far as I know, the operation will resume on Saturday," Putin noted.

He recalled that some 40% of the fuel leaked into the Black Sea from the damaged tankers. "Why do I say that this is a major calamity and a disaster? Because almost 40% of the fuel was spilled, this is clear already," the head of state said. "Some tankers are half-sunken, others have sunk, some are half-water-logged near the coast and something needs to be done about this. Various services from various ministries, including the ministry of natural resources, transport, and emergencies ministries, are working. This work needs to be coordinated. This effort is headed by Deputy Prime Minister for transport Vitaly Savelyev. All the services continue operating and I am briefed about what is going on regularly," he said.

Second phase of clean-up operations

The president called for preparations for the second phase of the clean-up and the evacuation of the damaged vessels.

"The first phase (of clean-up operations - TASS) continues - it is necessary to contain this section and not let the slick expand. Phase two - to do everything possible to remove the oil from the coast," he said. "This fuel has some special properties: it hardens at certain temperatures and when it is washed ashore, it needs to be removed. However, part of this stuff has fallen to the bottom but may surface somewhere in May when the water temperature rises. So, we need to take measures now to get prepared for this."

He also said that it is necessary to lift the sunken tankers as well. "This will take a lot of effort. The government is addressing this issue and I hope that time will not be wasted," Putin added.

The Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239 tankers wrecked in the Black Sea on December 15 amid a storm. One sailor died, the rest were evacuated. According to emergencies services, the tankers were carrying about 9,200 tons of fuel oil. An oil spill occurred in the Black Sea as a result of the accident. Clean-up operations are underway.

Specialists have surveyed 130 kilometers of the coastline in the Krasnodar Region. Some 10.7 kilometers have been cleaned. According to the Russian emergencies ministry, the operation involves more than 5,000 rescuers and volunteers.