Sewastopol Declares Regional State of Emergency Due to Oil Spill on Beaches
Sewastopol Governor Mikhail Razvожаев announced the city’s declaration of a regional state of emergency today (January 4) due to oil pollution affecting coastal beaches. This news was reported by RIA Novosti.
"I am personally leading the crisis team responsible for the situation. Today, the city of Sewastopol has entered a regional state of emergency," Razvожаев wrote on his Telegram channel.
"The Black and Azov Sea branch of the Federal Natural Resources Supervision Service and the Sewastopol Natural Resources Service are currently monitoring the situation and inspecting the entire coastline," he added.
Earlier today, the governor revealed that traces of oil continue to litter Sewastopol beaches, although he clarified that this could not be classified as "mass pollution." He announced that the shore will be divided into separate territories, and that volunteers will be recruited for clean-up efforts and supplied with protective gear.
On December 15, two tankers, "Volgoneft-212" with a 13-member crew and "Volgoneft-239" with 14 sailors on board, collided off the Kerch Strait due to severe storm conditions. The accident resulted in the death of a watchman on the "Volgoneft-212" and an ongoing criminal investigation into safety violations.
According to Russia’s Ministry of Transportation, the incident caused around 2,400 tons of oil products to leak into the sea. On December 26, the federal authorities declared a state of emergency in the Krasnodar region. Clean-up efforts are underway, with rescue teams and volunteers collecting contaminated soil and removing oil-water mixture from the water. Five centers for rescued birds have been established in the region.
Photos from the incident and clean-up efforts are available in the image library.
