Source: Novosti.
Four vessels were shipwrecked in the Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and the Azov Sea this Sunday. The bodies of three sailors have been found, and at least eight others are still missing.
The ships were loaded with more than 4,000 tons of crude oil containing sulfur. Spokesman of the Russian Ministry for Emergencies Viktor Beltsov announced the launch of a major operation to contain the spill.
With 2,000 metric tons of fuel oil and about 6,800 tons of sulfur spilled into the sea, it is one of Russia’s worst environmental disasters in recent years, and it would take months to clear up the environmental pollution.
The oil “glues” birds’ feathers together, clogs fishes gills, and blocks out sunlight. Oil pollution also slows down coral reefs growing and their reproduction. Coral reefs are also very sensitive to oil, especially crude oil.
The worst spill in Italy history was from the Haven, which leaked 144,000 tons of crude oil , Genoa, in 1991.
More recently the tanker Erika spilt 20,000 tons of heavy fuel oil off the coast of France in 1999, and the Prestige leaked 63,000 tons of heavy fuel oil off northern Spain in 2002, according to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation .
Since 1974 ITOPF has maintained a database of oil spills from tankers, combined carriers and barges, which is amongst the most comprehensive of its kind. It is used to generate statistics on numbers and sizes of spills, and to identify causes of spills. Long-term trends can be analysed.
Major Oil Spills Since 1967
Shipname – Year – Location – Spill Size (tonnes)
1 Atlantic Empress 1979 Off Tobago, West Indies 287,000
2 ABT Summer 1991 700 nautical miles off Angola 260,000
3 Castillo de Bellver 1983 Off Saldanha Bay, South Africa 252,000
4 Amoco Cadiz 1978 Off Brittany, France 223,000
5 Haven 1991 Genoa, Italy 144,000
6 Odyssey 1988 700 nautical miles off Nova Scotia, Canada 132,000
7 Torrey Canyon 1967 Scilly Isles, UK 119,000
8 Sea Star 1972 Gulf of Oman 115,000
9 Irenes Serenade 1980 Navarino Bay, Greece 100,000
10 Urquiola 1976 La Coruna, Spain 100,000
11 Hawaiian Patriot 1977 300 nautical miles off Honolulu 95,000
12 Independenta 1979 Bosphorus, Turkey 95,000
13 Jakob Maersk 1975 Oporto, Portugal 88,000
14 Braer 1993 Shetland Islands, UK 85,000
15 Khark 5 1989 120 nautical miles off Atlantic coast of Morocco 80,000
16 Aegean Sea 1992 La Coruna, Spain 74,000
17 Sea Empress 1996 Milford Haven, UK 72,000
18 Katina P 1992 Off Maputo, Mozambique 72,000
19 Nova 1985 Off Kharg Island, Gulf of Iran 70,000
20 Prestige 2002 Off the Spanish coast 63,000
35 Exxon Valdez 1989 Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA 37,000
