Disaster in the Kerch Strait: how Russia’s “shadow fleet” threatens the environment

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Tons of fuel oil, dead birds and hundreds of poisoned people. How can this be prevented in the future?

In December 2024, an environmental disaster occurred in the Kerch Strait: the Russian tankers Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239 were destroyed due to a storm. As a result, about 4.3 thousand tons of oil spilled into the sea. It turned out that the oil was being exported to India. The Working Group for the Study of the Environmental Consequences of the War in Ukraine (UWEC) published a text by ecologist Evgeniy Simonov about the threat of Russia’s “shadow fleet”. DOXA summarizes the expert's findings.

On December 15, two tankers were caught in a storm - a member of the Volgoneft-212 crew died from hypothermia, the rest managed to escape. As of January 21, pollution of the coast of the Azov Sea has expanded to 265 kilometers. More than a thousand birds died in one day, about three thousand died in total. Dozens of dolphins and other marine animals are known to have died . Hundreds of volunteers are involved in eliminating the disaster, many of them suffered from fuel oil poisoning: at least 146 of them sought medical help. Some volunteers are facing pressure: a video has spread online in which the Deputy Minister of Education of the Krasnodar Territory Sergei Uraikin cursed at them. Later it became known that Uraikin would resign.

One of the pro-Kremlin political analysts said that oil products were allegedly transported within Russia and were not intended for international trade. At the same time, the UWEC expert believes that the fuel oil was sent specifically for export - most likely to India to oil refineries. On this basis, Simonov classifies the Volgoneft tankers as Volgoneft river-sea class tankers were built in the seventies. According to experts, they have long been obsolete morally and physically and must be disposed of, but shipping companies use them to reduce the cost of logistics. to the Russian “shadow fleet” The number of ships in the “shadow fleet” is known only approximately. Ukrainian special services maintain a special sanctions website, where 570 vessels of the “shadow fleet” have already been listed, while Greenpeace in September 2024 compiled a list of 192 tankers that have not yet been sanctioned, threatening the ecosystem of the Baltic Sea. In total, the Russian Federation may have a total of up to 1,000 ships delivering export oil in circumvention of sanctions. .

Simonov noted that he had found information about the history of transportation of Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239. In December 2023, they were supposed to transfer the cargo to the sea tanker FIRN, built in South Korea by order of a Russian company. In 2021, FIRN was seen transporting sanctioned Venezuelan oil, and in 2023, in delivering Arctic oil from Murmansk to India.

UWEC emphasizes that in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, studying and eliminating the disaster is becoming more difficult. Moreover, the main reason for the incident is the “chronic negligence” of the Russian authorities, writes Simonov. According to his information, the Volgoneft tankers did not even have permission to go to sea.

This is not the first time that the authorities' arbitrariness has led to an environmental disaster. In 2007, in the same Kerch Strait, the Volgoneft 139 tanker broke in half, as a result of which, according to official data alone, 1,600 tons of fuel oil spilled into the sea. More than 30 thousand birds died then. Cleaning up the coast took Russia and Ukraine more than a year.

In 2002, the Russian tanker Prestige, departing from St. Petersburg, also split in two and sank in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of northern Spain. As a result of the accident, more than 80 thousand tons of fuel oil spilled into the sea.

In 1999, Volgoneft 248 sank in the Sea of ​​Marmara, from which 1,500 to 3,000 tons of fuel oil leaked. Five kilometers of Istanbul's coastline were heavily polluted.

However, during war, tankers pose a particular danger, including due to the severance of international ties. According to Simonov, the vessels of the “shadow fleet” carry more environmental risks than others. They are usually very worn out and are not always insured. Such ships are registered to offshore companies, and the real owner can be difficult to find. Tankers hide their true destinations and routes. In the event of an accident, small companies that own the ship simply declare bankruptcy and avoid liability.

The increased risk of tanker accidents is also associated with the danger of mines and military drones. Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, about a hundred military and civilian ships have been sunk or damaged, Simonov noted. Thus, the cruiser Moskva, sunk in April 2022, had a fuel reserve of about two thousand tons. Currently, the fuel tanks are located at a depth of 50 meters and have not yet been removed, which poses the risk of a fuel spill in the future. In total, there may be up to 800 ships at the bottom of the Black Sea.

UWEC believes that against the backdrop of the war, Russia's ability and desire to ensure the safety of transportation of petroleum products has decreased. Moreover, an anonymous environmental expert told the organization that the main cause of the accident may be the disregard of the state and big business towards environmental safety rules.

“Despite the harsh lesson taught by the 2007 oil spill, Russian authorities have learned nothing and prepared for nothing,” writes UWEC. Procedures, technical means and standards for the export of heavy petroleum products have only changed for the worse.

Simonov believes that the international community must strictly control "shadow fleet" of the Russian Federation, so that reduce the risk of similar spills in the future. Russia needs to dispose of old ships, limit the transportation of oil and draw up an action plan in case of a future environmental disaster. However, UWEC believes that the Russian authorities are unlikely to heed these recommendations, so it considers international enforcement mechanisms as the “most promising path.”