SIMFEROPOL, January 22. /TASS/. More than 1,100 birds and five dolphins have died off Crimea since a recent fuel oil spill from two oil tankers in the Kerch Strait, Vladimir Konstantinov, head of the republic’s parliament, told Rossiya-24 television.
"Five dolphins have perished. <…> The situation looks quite manageable so far. And we have 1,160 deceased birds, while the total number of birds [affected by the fuel oil spill] stands at around 17,000," he specified.
In the Republic of Crimea, one of the bird rescue centers is coordinated by participants in the special military operation, Konstantinov said. According to Crimea’s top lawmaker, there is no shortage of volunteers to save affected animals.
In mid-January, Serene Sea, a local dolphin rescue center, said the bodies of 34 dolphins had been found along the Black Sea coast of Crimea and Sevastopol since fuel oil leaked. While some mammals had perished even prior to the accident, Azov Sea harbor porpoises account for the bulk of the deceased dolphins.
Fuel oil spill
The Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 tankers were severely damaged in a storm on December 15. One sailor lost his life, and the rest were evacuated. According to rescuers, the tankers were carrying about 9,200 tons of fuel oil. Clean-up efforts in the Black Sea area where an oil spill occurred are ongoing. Around 2,400 tons of fuel oil leaked as a result of the accident, according to an estimate from the Russian Transport Ministry that is significantly lower than initial calculations.