Neighbors help Ukraine in Black Sea ecological disaster
Share
Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria have agreed on joint steps to deal with the consequences of the oil spill in the Black Sea. Further action is complicated by the fact that Russia is hiding the true consequences of the disaster.
This was reported by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.
A common threat
According to Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, cooperation with neighbors is not a favor for Ukraine, but a shared responsibility of the Black Sea littoral states.
"Despite mathematical models not predicting the oil slick moving westward, the consequences of Russian tanker accidents pose risks for the entire Black Sea. This includes tens of kilometers of fuel oil film on the water's surface extending deep into the sea, thousands of kilometers of polluted coastline, thousands of dead birds, dozens of dolphins, and disrupted food chains within ecosystems," the minister emphasized.
According to preliminary estimates, the oil spill has already caused more than $14 billion in material damage to the Black Sea ecosystem. Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania have already appealed to the UN, the EU and the International Maritime Organization. The countries have also agreed to coordinate efforts to restrict the entry of obsolete Russian ships into the sea.
Not enough information
The ministry notes that it has no verified data on the consequences of the Russian oil tanker accident.
"We have access to information about this situation only through the Crimean local media and a limited number of satellite images," the ministry said.
Ukrainian experts continue to monitor the situation, are preparing an appeal to the European Commission and are waiting for the international community to act.
"This is not the first similar situation with Russian tankers. Russia ignores international maritime law. Therefore, to ignore this accident now means to allow it to happen again in the future," emphasized Svitlana Hrynchuk.
As a reminder, on December 15, two Russian tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, were damaged in the Kerch Strait due to a storm. 8.6 thousand tons of fuel oil got into the sea. The slick is moving towards the Odesa region. So far, no traces of oil products have been found in the sea near the Odesa coast, but birds smeared with fuel oil have already been seen in the region.
