At least one person died. Both ships would have suffered irreparable damage that prevented them from sailing and reaching port, potentially causing them to sink in the Sea of Azov, which borders both Russian and Ukrainian territory.
Two Russian oil tankers suffered accidents in the Kerch Strait due to a storm and spilled oil into the waters of the Sea of Azov, the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations announced this Sunday.
The vessels involved are the Bolgoneft 212, which ran aground after suffering damage to the bow, and the Bolgoneft 239, which is adrift, the Russian ministry detailed in a message on the social network Telegram.
Both ships will have suffered irreparable damage that prevents them from sailing and reaching portwhich could cause it to sink in the Sea of Azov, which borders both Russian and Ukrainian territory.
On the first ship there were 14 crew members, thirteen of whom have already been rescued and one died, emergency services told Russian news agency RIA Novosti. Two tugboats and two Mi-8 helicopters are involved in the rescue operations of the tanker crew, the second of which would also have 14 crew members.
The accidents may have been caused by the strong gusts of wind recorded in the area or by strong swells, meteorological conditions that could have led the crews to make navigational errors.
Official sources confirmed that, due to the accident, there has already been an oil spill in the Sea of Azov, which has been under Russian military control since 2022. According to preliminary information, the two tankers together carried around eight thousand tons of fuel. To assess the risk of a catastrophe in the area bordering the Crimean peninsula and take the necessary measures to stop the spill, a brigade of experts was sent.
