Ecologists pointed out the consequences of delaying the raising of the tankers "Volgoneft" from the seabed.

Autumn and winter storms hinder the raising of the sunken parts of the tankers "Volgoneft" in the Kerch Strait, from which, judging by satellite images, fuel oil leaks continue. By the end of this year, the vessels are unlikely to be raised. At the same time, the authorities' report on the completion of fuel oil pumping does not rule out new discharges of oil products into the sea, ecologists pointed out.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in the summer of 2025, cofferdams were installed over the sunken parts of the vessels in the Kerch Strait to prevent fuel oil leaks. In August of this year, the authorities reported the completion of oil product pumping, however, subsequent satellite images showed oil films in the areas where parts of the tankers sank. On September 25, the authorities confirmed the completion of pumping, while the sunken fragments of the vessels remained on the seabed.

Strong autumn and winter storms hinder the work of divers in the Kerch Strait, where waves up to four meters high sway the sunken parts of the tankers at a depth of about 20 meters, noted ecologist Igor Shkradyuk. He reminded that in the summer of 2025, steel cofferdams weighing about 1500 tons each were installed over three sunken fragments of the vessels, after cutting off the superstructures and sealing holes in the hulls. The ecologist noted that despite this, fuel oil leaks continued. After the authorities reported the completion of pumping, satellite images still indicate the discharge of several kilograms to tens of kilograms of fuel oil into the sea daily, Shkradyuk said. He also pointed out the repeated postponement of the deadlines for raising the sunken parts of the vessels.

"The media have repeatedly broadcast statements from the government commission that parts of the tankers will be raised in 2025, in the summer of 2026, and then by the end of 2026. It is already November – the storm season has begun. Floating cranes are not visible over the sunken parts. The tankers will not be raised by the end of 2026. The Ministry of Transport and the government commission do not report on the reasons for the failure to raise them within the stated deadlines. We hope that in 2027 the parts of the tankers will still be raised," Shkradyuk told a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot".

The ecologist also pointed out that individual fuel oil discharges continue to be detected on the shores of the Kerch and Taman peninsulas, where the volunteer headquarters "Dolphin" is engaged in coastal cleanup.

"Fresh oil can be scrubbed off the rocks with polypropylene sponges. It would be good if coastal traders would separately collect polypropylene bags from vegetables, as they could be useful for volunteers. But oil stains dry out, and with each week it becomes harder to scrub them off. Black traces of spilled oil will be visible on the rocks near Novorossiysk even in 2028.

Dried oil can be washed off the rocks and stones with a steam generator. A jet of hot water under pressure of 200 atmospheres cleans even the pores in the stone. But this is expensive equipment: hundreds of thousands of rubles, volunteers do not have it, and even "KubanSpas" does not have it. The best solution would be for a large organization dealing with oil products (oil terminals, seaports, etc.) to buy such a steam generator and lend it to volunteers for temporary use for cleaning at least the beaches from oil," Shkradyuk said.

October's beach pollution in the Novorossiysk area is related to the towing of the damaged tanker Aframax Rio, believes ecologist from Novorossiysk Elena Mezonina.

"We were towing a damaged tanker with oil from Sochi for repairs, and an oil trail stretched for several kilometers from it. The Ministry of Emergency Situations and volunteers collected this mess. The tanker was being towed to Novorossiysk for docking for repairs, and its pollution trail came to us. The beaches in Liman and Dyurso were all covered in oil, everything was stained. The Ministry of Emergency Situations and volunteers collected the pollution. Now it seems everything is fine," Mezonina told a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot".

At the same time, the official completion of fuel oil pumping from the sunken parts of "Volgoneft" does not rule out the possibility of new leaks, the ecologist emphasized.

"The official completion of fuel oil pumping does not mean that the sunken fragments have already been raised and the possibility of oil products entering the sea is completely excluded," Mezonina pointed out.

There have been no large-scale coastal pollution in the Anapa region in the past month, and the detected discharges in terms of oil product consistency are not related to the sinking of the tankers "Volgoneft", believes volunteer Zhanna Rybak.

"The discharges of the last month are not related to "Volgoneft" – by consistency, one can tell, and they were, fortunately, insignificant. Some were removed immediately, some were washed away by the storm that occurred almost immediately after the discharge. Overall, the situation in the Anapa region in this regard is consistently good. The spill occurred after the attack on the tanker in Sochi," Rybak told a correspondent from "Caucasian Knot".

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that in October, new discharges of oil products were discovered on the coast of the Krasnodar Territory after the storm. Volunteers called them insignificant, but pointed out the need for timely removal of collected fuel oil from the beaches.