Spilled oil disaster in Russia: Crisis claims wildlife victims
Six dead dolphins have washed ashore in the Krasnodar Region of Russia. According to the Shot channel, two more dead animals are in the sea. Since the oil spill from Russian tankers, a total of 11 dolphins and 143 birds have died.
Two Russian tankers, "Volgoneft 212" and "Volgoneft 239," had an accident in the Kerch Strait on December 15th. The preliminary cause is incorrect actions by the crews in difficult weather conditions.
Russian tanker disaster
The tankers were carrying about 10,000 tons of fuel oil. Most of the pollution affected the coast of the Krasnodar Region. Fuel oil is a dense, viscous liquid resulting from the distillation of crude oil.
After separating the lighter oil fractions, such as gasoline, diesel, or kerosene, it is produced as a residue. Fuel oil is one of the heaviest and least processed petroleum products.
According to ecologists, in the last 24 hours, 875 birds have been rescued from the oil trap. Weakened animals are being transported to rehabilitation centers.
Ornithologists estimate that their recovery process will take 2-3 days, but even after rehabilitation, only a small number are expected to survive. Several dead dolphins were also found on the coast. Currently, specialists are trying to determine the causes of their deaths, but preliminary findings suggest it may not be related to the oil spill.
Volunteers are still cleaning the coasts of the Krasnodar Region from petroleum products. Meanwhile, the problem with adequate equipment remains unresolved—it is not keeping pace with the work, which means that oil must be collected by hand in some places.
Currently, 9,000 people are involved in beach cleaning—the military has also come to aid the volunteers.
Volunteers have also been recruited in Crimea, where specialists have already detected several oil spill sites near the peninsula's coasts. Near Kerch, authorities have declared a state of emergency.
