VOLGONEFT-212

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Ukraine prosecutes captain of lost tanker for polluting Ukrainian waters

The Prosecutor General of Ukraine has filed papers in court seeking to hold the Russian captain of the 'Volgoneft 212', who is responsible for the oil pollution resulting from the loss of the vessel in the Kerch Strait in the latest in a series of efforts launched by Ukraine attempting to prosecute mariners for their role in the incidents or for operating vessels transporting grain and other materials in the Russian-occupied regions. Ukraine is charging the captain with spilling 1,500 tons of fuel as part of a larger oil leak from the tanker in Ukrainian waters. Ukraine estimated the damages at $480 million in the court papers: “The suspect, contrary to the usual seafaring requirements, did not take into account the weather conditions in the waters of the Azov and Black Seas, as well as in the Kerch Strait, which led to the accident," the prosecutor charged. The vessel was transporting 4,000 tonnes of M-100 fuel from Volgograd to Kavkaz and was accused that the fuel was to be transferred to an ocean-going shadow fleet tanker. Ukraine reported that oil was drifting ashore at various points in the Black Sea prompting a large-scale cleanup in the winter after the incident. In the past, Ukraine has detained and sought to prosecute crews for entering the ports of occupied Crimea and transporting grain or other materials that it alleges were stolen from Ukraine. In the summer of 2024, they seized the cargo ship 'Usko Mfu', registered in Cameroon, near the port of Reni on the Danube. The courts ordered the vessel seized. In fall 2024, Ukraine reported it was prosecuting the ship’s officers for entering Sevastopol. In April 2025, Ukraine reported seizing another cargo vessel they accursed of looting grain from Crimea. In the current case, it is unclear if the prosecutor named a specific individual. Clearly, the captain would have been charged in absentia and it is unclear if they were also attempting to file charges against the owner of the Volgoneft tankers.

Russia's environment ministry filed a new claim for compensation for damages against Kama Shipping and Volgatransneft CFC

A new fuel slick has been spotted on the surface in the Kerch Strait near the site where the 'Volgoneft 239' shipwrecked. On March 31,the ecologist Georgy Kavanosyan released a synthetic aperture radar image of the Kerch Strait, showing what appeared to be a long slick at the entrance to the strait. The site corresponds to the location of the bow section of the 'Volgoneft 239'. A second environmental scientist, Igor Shkradyuk, estimated that the leak was likely in the range of hundreds of liters per day ,and that it would likely continue through the warm months of the year as the fuel cargo heated up and seeped out. Government agencies were not telling what was happening with the spilled fuel oil. Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations said on April 4, that it continues to monitor the wreck sites daily, and it claimed that no additional fuel leaks from the tanker has been recorded. Russia's environment ministry (Rosprirodnadzor) has filed a new claim for compensation for damages against the owners of the 'Volgoneft 239' and 'Volgoneft 212'. The total claim comes to about 85 billion rubles ($1 billion), split between the Kama Shipping and Volgatransneft CFC. The two companies have one month to pay for the damages, after which the ministry will initiate a lawsuit.

Anapa suing shipping companies for $2.4 million after oil spill

The Russian summer resort town of Anapa, a popular holiday town of some 80,000 people, is suing two shipping companies for $2.4 million after an oil spill devastated its local beaches. The office of the town's mayor, Vasiliy Shvets, announced on March 10 that it was seeking 211 million rubles from Volgatransneft and Kama Shipping, citing clean-up costs from the companies which owned and operated the 'Volgoneft 212' and 'Volgoneft 239', which had carried 9,000 metric tons of low-grade fuel, more than half of which leaked into the Kerch Strait between Russia and the Russian occupied Crimean peninsula. Anapa was hard hit by the spill, which contaminated over 30 miles of beach. The cleanup involved 10,000 people shoveling and scooping blackened sand and polluted water. The spill drew international attention amid concerns that Russia's sanctioned energy industry is using a shadow fleet of commercial ships to ferry oil and gas to foreign customers. Many such vessels are aging tankers pulled back into service that often prove difficult to track, prompting fears of further spillage and a lack of mechanisms to contain the damage. The grey-area status of Russia's dark vessels also underscores concern that they might not be properly insured to cover oil spills, leaving communities hit by such disasters to shoulder cleaning costs For Anapa, the $2.4 million is an incomplete tally of the money already paid under contracts to deal with the spill. The amount is not final, and in the future, the administration intends to increase the claims. Municipal filings for the arbitration court of the Krasnodar region showed that Anapa submitted its lawsuit on March 7. Judge Irina Bondarenko is listed as overseeing the case. Testing the beaches for contamination, publishing footage of excavators and bulldozers cleaning up the seaside started on March 8. The long-term environmental impact of the spill remains to be seen. Greenpeace said the oil could sink to the bottom of the deep sea, poisoning fish and vegetation there. The impact of the ecological disaster could persist for decades.