A petition has been published demanding to raise the sunken parts of the tankers "Volgoneft".

In a petition to the head of the Ministry of Transport of Russia, published by an Anapa blogger, there is a call on behalf of the citizens to raise the sunken parts of the tankers as soon as possible and eliminate the risk of coastal pollution due to storms. The petition has gathered 15 signatures.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in the summer of 2025, cofferdams were installed over the sunken parts of ships in the Kerch Strait to prevent oil leaks. In August of this year, the authorities reported the completion of the pumping of oil products; however, satellite images later showed oil films in the areas where the tanker parts sank. On September 25, the authorities confirmed the completion of the pumping, while the sunken fragments of the ships remained on the bottom. Autumn and winter storms complicate the raising of the sunken parts of the tankers "Volgoneft" in the Kerch Strait, from which, judging by satellite images, oil leaks continue. By the end of this year, the ships are unlikely to be raised. At the same time, the authorities' report on the completion of the oil pumping does not rule out new oil product discharges into the sea, ecologists pointed out.

Blogger Max Anapsky created a petition on the Change.Org platform to the head of the Ministry of Transport of Russia, Dmitry Yadrov.

In the appeal, he noted that the pumping of oil from the sunken parts of the tankers was completed in August. "But ecologists report ongoing possible oil product leaks. As soon as there is a storm and strong winds from the Kerch Strait, we may expect black spots on the shore, which is a great pain for every Anapa resident; we want this hell to end. With each new storm, the risk of structural destruction increases," he stated, asking to "take all measures to raise the ships considering the current situation."

The second problem mentioned in the appeal is the emissions of mercaptan gases. "Residents of Anapa and neighboring settlements regularly complain about the sharp smell of oil products and mercaptans, headaches, and nausea. At the offshore berths of the KTK in the area of Southern Ozyoreevka, during the loading of oil from tankers, inert gases containing oil vapors are displaced. It is possible to install a modular system for capturing and cleaning these gases directly during the loading of tankers: a sealed gas collection, passing through adsorption filters with activated carbon and specialized sorbent. Placing a mobile unit near the offshore berthing facility will avoid the construction of an expensive gas pipeline to the shore. We can start with a pilot project at one berth. This will allow capturing pollutants directly at the source of their formation, rather than limiting ourselves to measuring concentrations after they have been released into the atmosphere. Anapa is a federal children's resort that is visited by about 5 million Russians every year. Families with children from all over the country come here to rest. We should not tolerate a situation where residents and vacationers are forced to endure sharp chemical odors and fear for their health," he pointed out.

As of 14:18 Moscow time, 15 people have signed the petition.

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 a spill of oil products, which led to catastrophic environmental consequences, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Oil spill in the Kerch Strait".