NOVO-OGARYOVO, January 9. /TASS/. Most of the oil washed ashore in southern Russia following the sinking of two tankers last year in the Black Sea has been collected, Russian Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov said in a briefing to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Although the majority of oil products has been collected from the coastline, small amounts are still being washed ashore almost every day due to strong wind and waves. They are being promptly cleaned up," the minister said.

According to previous reports, almost 140,000 metric tons of oil-contaminated sand and soil have been removed from the shoreline as part of the cleanup effort.

On December 15, the Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 tankers sank in the Kerch Strait area in the Black Sea amid a storm. One sailor died, and the rest were evacuated. According to emergency 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, and clean-up operations are underway. According to the Russian Ministry of Transport, about 2,400 tons of oil products have leaked into the Black Sea, which is much less than the initial estimates.