NOVO-OGARYOVO: Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked the authorities to make every possible effort to promptly clean up the fuel oil s...
NOVO-OGARYOVO: Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked the authorities to make every possible effort to promptly clean up the fuel oil spill in the Black Sea.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting Putin also demanded that a plan be developed to raise the sunken tankers.
TASS has compiled the main instructions of the head of state.
Serious challenge
The fuel oil spill that occurred after the tanker wreck in the Black Sea is " one of the most serious environmental challenges we have faced in recent years," Putin said.
He noted that the relevant authorities are not doing enough to minimize the damage from the emergency.
Instructions
The authorities must "do everything to resolve the issue of stopping oil leaking from the sunken tankers," Putin demanded.
There are still many problems surrounding the fuel oil spill in the Black Sea, he said, and the authorities must "analyze and organize" all the input data and pay close attention to the situation.
The President also instructed the authorities to work out a plan for lifting the tankers post haste: "This is a separate large-scale work related to the training of specialists and preparing the equipment, as well as allocation of the required financial resources."
The head of state also instructed the authorities to set up a headquarters to oversee the cleanup of the oil spill, which would work at the scene of the emergency.
Emergency Situations Minister’s report
Equipment to collect oil products from the sunken tankers in the Black Sea has been assembled and is ready for operation, Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov told Putin.
According to him, the bulk of the fuel oil washed up on the coast has been collected. He specified that specialists had collected almost 40 tons of oil products in the waters of the Kerch Strait and in the port of Anapa.
Kurenkov also reported that the Emergency Situations Ministry had extra hands in reserve in case the situation worsened.
About emergency
On December 15, the Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 tankers sank 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 ongoing.
According to the Russian Ministry of Transport, about 2,400 tons of oil products have leaked into the Black Sea, much less than initially estimated.
On December 26, a federal level state of emergency was introduced due to the oil spill.
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