Morspass service will clean the tanker Volgoneft-239 after pumping out fuel oil
The tanker Volgoneft-239, which is aground after an accident off the coast of Krasnodar Region, will be cleaned after fuel oil is pumped out of it. Viktor Chernov, head of the Maritime Rescue Service, said on January 17 that the vessel will not pose a threat to the environment after that.
"We plan to finish unloading fuel oil by the end of the month. We will clean the vessel, it will not pose an ecological hazard," - cited words Chernov in Telegram-channel of the operashtab of the Krasnodar region.
The fuel will be pumped out of the tanker in about three days, which is how long it will take to warm it up. Currently, the ship's systems and the vessel's heating system have already started the process of heating the oil products for subsequent unloading.
"The M100 fuel oil becomes fluid and can be offloaded at a temperature of about +45 degrees Celsius. Now the temperature of the water in which the vessel is located is +8 degrees. It will take three days to heat the fuel oil to the required temperature. After that it can be taken by ship pumps and unloaded on the shore", - explained Chernov.
After cleaning the tanker "Volgoneft-239" can be utilized locally, or transported to another port, if the technical condition of the vessel allows it.
Earlier on January 17, Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit said that the possibility of fuel oil leaking from the stern of the Volgoneft-239 tanker into the Black Sea has been eliminated. He added that heating of the fuel should be completed by Sunday evening, and on Monday morning the fuel oil will be pumped out into railroad tanks that are on the tankers. Asked when the fuel pumping work will be completed, the minister said it is scheduled to be completed by the end of January 2025.
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.
On 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.