Oil spill in the Kerch Strait.
Dozens of dead marine mammals have been found since a Russian oil tanker spilled in the Black Sea last month, the Dolphin Conservation Center said on Sunday, as authorities work to prevent the accident.
The spill began on December 15, when two aging Russian tankers were caught in a storm off the coast of the Kerch Strait, which connects Crimea and southern Russia.
Officials estimate that one ship sank and the other ran aground, spilling about 2,400 tons of heavy oil known as Mazut into surrounding waters.
Russia’s Delfa Center, which rescues and rehabilitates dolphins, said it had recorded 61 cetacean deaths since the incident, 32 of which were “probably” killed in the spill.
Cetaceans are a type of aquatic mammal that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
“Judging by the condition of the bodies, most of these cetaceans most likely died in the first 10 days after the disaster,” the newspaper said on Telegram.
Most of those killed were Azov dolphins, the report said. Dolphins are a type of porpoise that resemble dolphins but are more closely related to beluga whales and narwhals.
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said on Sunday that “strong winds and waves” had sent oil flying onto some beaches as it worked to clean up after the accident.
“More than 68 kilometers of coastline has been purified,” the statement said.
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry has been organizing beach clean-up operations since last month.
In a further statement on Sunday, the ministry announced that two new oil slicks had been discovered.
One was off the coast of the seaside resort of Anapa and the other in Capsule Bay, according to a statement cited by Russia’s TASS news agency.
The second runway was 2 kilometers long, the news agency said.
Hundreds of volunteers have been sent to scoop contaminated soil from beaches in Crimea and along Russia’s southern coast.
Russian authorities say the fuel oil involved in the incident is particularly difficult to clean because it is dense and heavy and does not float on surfaces.
© 2025 AFP
Source: Dozens of marine mammals found dead after Russian oil tanker spill (January 5, 2025) https://phys.org/news/2025-01-dozens-marine- Retrieved January 5, 2025 from mammals-dead-russian.html
This document is subject to copyright. No part may be reproduced without written permission, except in fair dealing for personal study or research purposes. Content is provided for informational purposes only.
