A 49.4 billion ruble fine has been approved for the owner of the Volgoneft-212 tanker.

The owner of the Volgoneft-212 tanker, which sank in the Kerch Strait, was unable to challenge the decision to recover over 49 billion rubles for damages caused to the Black Sea.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in August, the Arbitration Court of Krasnodar Krai upheld the claim of Rosprirodnadzor against the owner and charterer of one of the tankers, the Volgoneft-212, which sank in the Kerch Strait, ordering Kamatransoil LLC and Kama Shipping LLC to pay over 49 billion 460 million rubles for damages to the Black Sea. All bank accounts of these companies were frozen.

The Fifteenth Arbitration Court of Appeal rejected the appeal of Kamatransoil, the owner of the sunken tanker Volgoneft-212, against the decision to collect 49.4 billion rubles from Rosprirodnadzor for damage to the Black Sea. The Kuban Arbitration Court's decision was upheld, Kommersant reported on November 25.

The company demanded that the decision be overturned, as it rejects Rosprirodnadzor's claim. Representatives of the vessel's owner claim that the shipwreck occurred due to the fault of the Kavkaz seaport operators, who delayed the unloading of oil products from the tanker, as well as due to force majeure—a powerful storm during which the Volgoneft-212 tanker broke in two and sank.

The trial court also cited a violation of shipping regulations, according to which a river-sea vessel should not have been in the sea after the end of navigation, that is, after November 30. The disaster occurred on December 15, 2024, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Fuel Oil Spill in the Kerch Strait".

The Volgoneft-212 tanker remains on the seabed with thousands of tons of fuel oil, noted Elena, a member of the "Dolphins" volunteer headquarters, commenting on a post on the group's Telegram channel about the work being done to install cofferdams over the sunken fragments of the tankers. Blogger Max Anapsky, who monitors work in the Kerch Strait using satellite images, suggested on November 25 that a second cofferdam had been installed over the bow of the Volgoneft-239 tanker, but authorities have not yet released any official information on the results of the work.

In August, satellite images showed that fuel oil pollution from sunken tankers in the Black Sea continues. Most of the fuel oil settled to the seabed, including in the area of Taman, Anapa, and the Bugay Spit, scientists concluded. Materials on the consequences of the fuel oil spill have been compiled by the "Caucasian Knot" on the page "Eco-disaster in Kuban".