Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday condemned the response to a massive oil spill in the Black Sea and announced the creation of a new task force to manage the cleanup operation, nearly four weeks after the disaster began.
Dozens of marine mammals have died since the spill, which occurred on 15 December when two ageing Russian oil tankers were caught in a storm off Crimea’s coast.
One tanker sank, and the other ran aground, releasing approximately 2,400 tonnes of heavy fuel oil into the waters between southern Russia and the annexed Crimean peninsula.
“What is being done to minimise the damage so far is clearly insufficient,” Putin said during a televised meeting with officials, describing the spill as one of Russia’s “most serious environmental challenges” in recent years.
He called for the establishment of a commission and command centre on-site, led by senior officials from relevant ministries, to oversee the cleanup. “Everything must be done to stop the leak,” he stressed.
Oil slicks were spotted on 3 January near Sevastopol, about 250 kilometres from the incident site. Russian authorities highlighted the difficulty of cleaning the dense fuel oil, which does not float.
Hundreds of volunteers have been working to remove contaminated soil from beaches in Crimea and along Russia’s southern coast.