A working group has been established by President Vladimir Putin to lessen the effects of the fuel spill, the full scope of which is still unknown.
According to Russian authorities on Sunday, two Russian oil tankers carrying 29 crew members have sustained significant damage and are currently spilling oil in the Black Sea.
According to the Russian state-owned news service Tass, “a storm in the Black Sea waters damaged two tankers, Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239, today.”
One ship has fifteen passengers, while the other has fourteen. An oil spill emergency resulted from the damage, according to the government.
Telegram footage that hasn’t been verified seems to show one of the ships split in two, and oil splatters can be seen on the water’s surface. The incident happened in the early hours of Sunday in the strait known as the Kerch Strait, which divides mainland Russia from the annexation of Crimea.
A working group was established by Russian President Vladimir Putin to “organize rescue operations and cleanup works after the oil spill,” according to Dmitry Peskov, his press secretary.
Two helicopters and two rescue tugboats have been sent out. One crew member died, according to the Russian emergency ministry.
According to Reuters, both ships can carry up to 4,200 metric tons of oil products.
