Oil spill in the Kerch Strait: Black Sea at risk of environmental disaster
An oil escape in the Kerch Strait signals a potential ecological catastrophe.
The incident involving two Volgoneft tankers in the Kerch Strait represents a grave danger to the Black Sea’s ecosystem, as reported by Greenpeace environmental advocates.
Based on different reports, each damaged tanker might have been carrying as much as 5,000 metric tons of oil-based materials. A release of this magnitude could become among the worst anthropogenic calamities in the vicinity.
Environmental specialists are presently unable to determine the precise position of the escape due to atmospheric circumstances—high winds and powerful flows. Nevertheless, specialists have already requested that officials do everything possible to lessen the impact.
Back in 2007, a heavy fuel oil escape originating from a comparable tanker, also named Volgoneft, transpired in that same locale. The petroleum-derived substances tainted numerous kilometers of coastal areas and inflicted considerable harm on the zone’s plant and animal life.
The ongoing ecological tragedy may appear far graver: in the direst of circumstances, as much as ten thousand metric tons of oil-based materials would flow into the Black Sea, contrasted with approximately one and a half thousand back in 2007.
