Scientists assessed the marine ecosystems near Anapa and Tuapse after oil product spills.

Scientists found petroleum products in the bottom sediments near Dzhemete, and in Tuapse – on the breakwaters, pebbles, in the river, and in the riverside vegetation. At the same time, they did not identify signs of suppression of benthic communities and preliminarily assessed the damage to the coastal ecosystem as insignificant.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on August 21, the authorities reported the completion of the pumping of fuel oil from the sunken tankers "Volgoneft-212" and "Volgoneft-239" in the Kerch Strait. At that time, the authorities stated that no new oil product discharges had been recorded along the coastline.

Scientists from the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and the A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas RAS studied the state of benthic communities in the areas of oil product spills near Anapa and Tuapse, the magazine "Monocle" reported today, citing the press service of the Institute of Oceanology.

The studies were conducted as part of the summer phase of the expedition "Black Sea-2026" from June 24 to July 13. Scientists collected samples of bottom sediments and suspended organic matter, including to assess pollution by petroleum products. Special attention was paid to the most affected areas of the water near Anapa and Tuapse, the publication "Science" reported today, citing the Institute of Oceanology.

In the coastal zone of Dzhemete, scientists found petroleum products in the bottom sediments, but recorded a large number of bivalve mollusks, crabs, and fish. In fresh discharges, petroleum products were virtually absent, said Galina Kolyuchkina, a candidate of biological sciences, senior researcher at the Institute of Oceanology and head of the expedition team "Black Sea-2026".

"In the coastal zone of Dzhemete (Anapa District), despite the presence of petroleum products in the bottom sediments, even a year and a half after the accident, the benthic communities do not appear to be suppressed: we observed a large number of bivalve mollusks, crabs, and fish. <...> In Tuapse, petroleum products were noted on the coastal breakwaters and pebbles, as well as in the Tuapse River and riverside vegetation," Kolyuchkina's words were quoted by "Science".

In Tuapse, scientists also found mussels, oysters, sea urchins, and rapans on the breakwaters near the city beach, which was most severely affected by the spill. These species are sensitive to pollution, Kolyuchkina noted.

The data obtained allow for a preliminary assessment of the damage to the coastal benthic ecosystem as insignificant. Final conclusions about the impact of oil product spills in the areas of Anapa and Tuapse are intended to be made after processing all collected samples.

The magazine "Monocle" cited data from the Scientific and Ecological Center for the Rescue of Dolphins "Delpha", whose specialists recorded the death of 630 cetaceans in the Black Sea over six months and linked the increase in mortality to pollution by petroleum products. According to the center's specialists, the examined dead animals showed liver, pancreas, and kidney damage.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that according to the results of another monitoring, scientists did not find increased levels of petroleum products in the water near Anapa, however, social media users doubted these conclusions, pointing to traces of fuel oil on the coast. On August 19, satellite imagery from Planet showed the continuation of oil product leakage from fragments of sunken tankers in the Kerch Strait.

On December 15, 2024, two tankers carrying fuel oil sank in the Kerch Strait. As a result, a crew member of one of the tankers died. In addition, there was an oil product spill, which led to catastrophic ecological consequences, according to the report from "Caucasian Knot" "Fuel oil spill in the Kerch Strait". Materials on the consequences of the fuel oil spill have been collected by "Caucasian Knot" on the page "Ecological disaster in Kuban".