Russian scientists have criticized efforts to remove oil washed ashore from two oil tankers in the Black Sea, saying they lack adequate equipment.
On December 15, two Russian oil tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, were caught in a storm in the Kerch Strait, causing one to sink and the other to run aground.
The strait separates southern Russia from Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
According to Russian authorities, the ships were carrying 9,200 tons of fuel oil, about 40% of which may have spilled into the sea.
President Vladimir Putin last week called it an “ecological disaster.”
Thousands of volunteers were mobilized to clear oil-soaked sand from nearby beaches.
But scientists say volunteers do not have the necessary equipment.
“There are no bulldozers or trucks there. There is almost no heavy equipment,” Viktor Danilov-Danilyan said at a press conference.
Danilov-Danilyan is the scientific director of the Institute of Water Issues of the Russian Academy of Sciences and served as Russia's Minister of Environment in the 1990s.
All the volunteers have are “shovels and useless plastic bags that tear apart,” he said.
“In the end, while we were waiting for the cargo to be retrieved, a storm came and the cargo ended up back in the ocean. It's unthinkable!”
Public criticism of authorities is rare in Russia.
Russia's natural resources minister announced on Monday that up to 200,000 tons of sand may have been contaminated with oil.
Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Wednesday that nearly 30,000 tons had already been recovered.
Professor Sergei Ostav of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences said oil could soon reach Crimea's shores.
“No one should have any illusions that things will stay clean,” he said, calling for swift action.
Delfa's Dolphin Conservation Center said 21 dolphins may have died in the oil spill, but additional tests were needed to confirm the cause of death.
