KRASNODAR, December 25. /TASS/. No oil has been found along the Novorossiysk coastline after the oil spill at the Krasnodar Region shore following the tanker emergency. No oil patches were observed either, the city administration press office reported.
Earlier, the media had reported oil contamination along the Novorossiysk coastline.
"No oil traces were identified during the December 25 morning inspection of Myskhako, Shirokaya Balka, Sudjukskaya Spit, and Aleksino beaches. The ecology department found no oil contamination along the shoreline during its monitoring. The coastline in Abrau-Dyurso is clean. No oil patches have been reported near Novorossiysk," the administration said, adding that daily monitoring of the city's beaches is conducted.
On December 15, the Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 tankers sank in the Kerch Strait of the Black Sea during a storm. One sailor lost his life, while the others were successfully evacuated. Emergency services confirmed that the tankers were carrying about 9,200 tons of fuel oil, resulting in an oil spill in the Black Sea. Cleanup operations are underway, with a team of over 10,000 personnel mobilized for the emergency response.
Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Alexander Kozlov reported that 14,000 tons of oil-contaminated sand have been removed so far, and the volume of polluted soil could potentially reach 200,000 tons.