As Fuel Washes Up on Black Sea Beaches, Third Russian Tanker Reports Leak

As a massive fuel spill from the lost tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 washes up in Russia's corner of the Black Sea, a third ship in the same fleet has reported an internal tank leak. 

According to Russian transport agency Rosmorrechflot, the aging river-sea tanker Volgoneft 212 sank in a severe storm Sunday about five nautical miles outside of the Kerch Strait. Waves in excess of 25 feet were forecast by Russia's meteorological agency in advance of the sinking. A video taken by a crewmember shows that the aging vessel broke up in the storm, and the bow could be seen floating away from the bridge deck. 

In addition, the tanker Volgoneft-239 went aground off Taman in the same storm on Sunday. Early reports on Monday indicated that this vessel was also leaking fuel oil, and the crew was evacuated for safety.

A third tanker, Volgoneft-109, reported Tuesday that it had developed an internal leak in a cargo tank. This crack was spilling fuel into a ballast tank, according to state news outlet TASS. The vessel remains stable and watertight at a position off Kavkaz, on the Sea of Azov side of Kerch Strait. The crew is still on board, attended by a salvage vessel. 

New bystander footage emerged Tuesday showing the disastrous outcome of the spills on the Russian side of the Kerch Strait. Weather has carried the fuel onto shore near Anapa, a popular destination for Russian domestic tourism, and about 15 nautical miles of beachfront are covered in sludge. Volgoneft-212 was carrying about 4,300 tonnes of mazut, a Russian and Central Asian residual fuel oil produced from low-quality feedstocks.

Volgoneft-212, 239 and 109 were all built between 1969 and 1973, produced under a major construction program in the Soviet Union that delivered hundreds of ships for the Black Sea-Volga "river-sea" tanker and freighter fleet. Many of these aging vessels are still in service today; with Western sanctions and domestic shipyard bottlenecks, Russian operators appear to have few options for replacing them in the near future.