A Russian oil tanker carrying thousands of tonnes of petroleum products split apart during a severe storm on Sunday, spilling oil into the Kerch Strait, while another tanker was also at risk after being damaged, Russian officials said.
Russian investigators have opened two criminal cases into possible safety violations after at least one person was killed when the 136-metre (470-foot) Volgonneft 212, carrying 15 people, split in two after its bow sank, state media reported. Waves washed over its deck.
Officials said the Russian-flagged ship, built in 1969, had been damaged and ran aground.
“There was a leak of petroleum products,” Russia’s water transport agency Rosmorreshflot said.
The second Russian-flagged ship, the 132-metre (470-foot) Volgonneft 239, drifted after being damaged, the Emergencies Ministry said. It has a crew of 14 and was built in 1973.
The two tankers have a capacity of about 4,200 tons of oil products.
This image from a video released by the Russian Southern Transport Prosecutor’s Office shows the Volgonft-212 tanker being crushed by a storm. Photo: AFP
