Starovoit announced the completion of the buildup of the Volgoneft-239 tanker
The possibility of fuel oil leakage from the stern of the Volgoneft-239 tanker into the Black Sea has been eliminated. This was announced by Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit on January 17 at a press approach after the meeting of the government commission on liquidation of the consequences of the tanker wreck.
"We have today eliminated the possibility of leakage into the Black Sea of fuel oil located on the stern ["Volgoneft-239"]. And at the same time at 6:00 we have today (January 17. - Ed.) started work on warming up the surviving tanks, on which there are about 1.4 thousand tons of fuel oil," - said Starovoit.
He added that fuel heating should be completed by Sunday evening, and on Monday morning fuel oil will be pumped into railroad tanks, which are on the tankers. Starovoit also indicated that work will be done to remove the fuel oil in the resulting bay, it will be collected in special gondola cars for disposal.
Also, answering the question about when the fuel pumping works will be finished, the Minister noted that they are planned to be completed by the end of January 2025.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev pointed out that preparations to ensure the elimination of fuel oil leakage are going on intensively.
On December 15 last year tankers Volgoneft-212 andVolgoneft-239crashed in the Kerch Strait due to bad weather. 27 people were evacuated from both vessels, one person died. As a result of the incident there was a spill of oil products. On the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a working group was set up to coordinate work to eliminate the consequences of the emergency.
On January 2, 2025 the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation reported that 2.4 thousand tons of oil products fell into the Black Sea. The next day the oil slick was found at the entrance to Balaklava Bay off the coast of Sevastopol. After the city declared a state of emergency of regional character, it also became known that fuel oil moved north along the Crimean coast.
January 11 in the Black Sea region of Crimea introduced a state of emergency threat regime of a municipal nature because of the identified fuel oil stains.
January 15 "Izvestia" showed the work of specialists of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, who lay a protective rampart around the tanker. An access technical road to the stern of the emergency vessel was built within a day on the instructions of the head of the agency, Alexander Kurenkov.