KRASNODAR, January 13. /TASS/. Specialists have managed to collect most of the oil that spilled out of the stern of the Volgoneft-239 tanker from Black Sea waters off the shore in the Temryuksky district of the Krasnodar Region, the area's crisis management center said on its Telegram channel.
"The bulk of the fuel oil was collected by an excavator during road construction at the site. Crews are now removing the remnants from the water. Near the shore, small patches of fuel oil are being manually gathered with shovels and placed in bags. The leaked oil, previously driven to the shore by booms, was contained to prevent it from spreading across the water," the report stated.
The oil spill involving the Volgoneft-239 tanker, which ran aground near the Taman settlement in the Temryuksky district of the Krasnodar Region, was reported on January 10. Specialists identified an oil slick covering approximately 2,800 square meters, with the pollution extending about 300 meters. A road leading to the stern was built to facilitate the cleanup efforts.
On December 15, the Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 tankers crashed 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.