Oil spill aftermath: Russian tanker disaster devastates wildlife

Two Russian tankers, "Volgoneft 212" and "Volgoneft 239", were involved in an accident in the Kerch Strait on December 15th, at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The preliminary cause is incorrect actions by the crews in challenging weather conditions.

The tankers were carrying about 10,000 tonnes of fuel oil. Most of the pollution affected the coast of the Krasnodar Region. Fuel oil is a dense, viscous liquid derived from the distillation of crude oil.

It is produced as a residue after separating the lighter fractions of oil, such as gasoline, diesel, or kerosene. Fuel oil is one of the heaviest and least processed petroleum products.

According to ecologists, over the last 24 hours, 875 birds have been rescued from the oil-affected areas – weakened animals are being transported to rehabilitation centres.

Ornithologists estimate that their recovery process will take 2–3 days, but even after rehabilitation, only a small number of individuals will survive. Several dead dolphins were also found on the coast. Currently, specialists are endeavouring 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 of petroleum products. Meanwhile, the issue with adequate equipment remains unresolved – it is not keeping pace with the work, meaning oil must sometimes be collected by hand.

Currently, 9,000 people are involved in beach cleaning – the military has also joined to aid the volunteers.

A recruitment of volunteers has also been organized 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.