MOSCOW, (Reuters) – A Russian oil tanker carrying thousands of tonnes of oil products split apart during a heavy storm yesterday, spilling oil into the Kerch Strait, while another tanker was also in distress after sustaining damage, Russian officials said.
The vessels were in the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, when they issued distress signals.
Russian investigators opened two criminal cases to look into possible safety violations after at least one person was killed when the 136-metre Volgoneft 212 tanker, with 15 people on board, split in half with its bow sinking.
Footage on state media showed waves washing over its deck.
The Russian-flagged vessel, built in 1969, was damaged and had run aground, officials said.
Unverified video posted on Telegram showed some blackened water on stormy seas and a half-submerged tanker.
The second Russian-flagged ship, the 132-metre Volgoneft 239, was drifting after sustaining damage, the Emergencies Ministry said. It has a crew of 14 people and was built in 1973.
The Kerch Strait is a key route for exports of Russian grain and is also used for exports of crude oil, fuel oil and liquefied natural gas.
In September, Ukraine accused Russia at an international court of flouting sea law by trying to keep the Kerch Strait under its sole control, something Moscow dismisses at groundless.
Emergency services said one person had died in the wreck of the first tanker, and 12 other people had been evacuated. Eleven of those were taken to hospital, with two in a serious condition, the TASS news agency quoted Alexei Kuznetsov, an aide to the health minister, as saying.
The Emergencies Ministry said it was still in contact with the other tanker and its crew after the ship ran aground 80 m from shore near the port of Taman at the south end of the Kerch Strait.
The ministry later wrote on Telegram that efforts to evacuate the crew of the second ship, Volganeft 239, were suspended because of bad weather.
The ministry said rescue teams were in contact with the ship, which had all facilities on board necessary to ensure the lives of the crew were not in danger.
Both tankers have a loading capacity of about 4,200 tonnes oil products.
