Pollution of the Azov Sea, Ukraine

From the Government's Annual Report on its activities to the State Duma:
"Further development of international transport corridors: North-South, Azov-Black Sea and north-western routes, which improved access to promising markets."

Fuel oil spilled as a result of the accident of two Russian tankers washed up on the coast in the Zaporizhia region in the area of ​​occupied Berdyansk.

The head of the occupation administration of the Zaporizhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, said that a polluted area of ​​14.5 km in length was discovered on the Berdyansk Spit from the open sea and another area of ​​5 square meters was discovered on the coast of the Peresyp Spit (washed out).

The catastrophe that occurred on December 15 in the waters of the Black Sea south of the Kerch Strait with the Russian tankers “Volgoneft-212” and “Volgoneft-239” led to the appearance of fuel oil on the Crimean shores of the Kerch Strait on December 21.

At a meeting in Anapa, Russia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Alexander Kozlov admitted that the fuel oil “apocalypse” is just beginning, as the “Crimean media” quote him, “If now they are talking about 14 thousand tons of emissions, then later we can talk about 200 thousand tons”, although immediately after the accident they were talking about “a maximum of 8 thousand tons”.

The “main department of the Ministry of Emergencies” acknowledged the discovery, as of December 21, of fuel oil on the coast of the village of Podmayachny, as well as in the Kerch areas of the Nymphaeum Road beach, the city embankment, the “Cosmos” camp and in the areas of Kapkany, Nizhneprimorskaya and the “Yeni-Kale” fortress.

Vladimir Latka, scientific director of the Russian “Whale Protection Fund”, stated that the main migration corridor of the Black and Azov Sea ecosystems – the Kerch Strait, through which all 38 species of commercial fish of the Azov and western Black Sea migrate twice a year, as well as the routes of Black Sea bottlenose dolphins and porpoises, are under threat, and a threat has arisen for the bottlenose dolphin “maternity hospital” in the Taman Bay.

The spill has already caused significant harm to marine life, with birds covered in oil and shoreline communities affected.

Ukrainian expert Pavel Gol’din stated that fuel oil “will now be thrown out everywhere – in the strait, and the Black Sea, and the Azov Sea, and will be spread as much as possible”

The aggressor-controlled “dolphin rescue center” “Delfa” reported the death of at least 10 dolphins as a result of the oil spill, but it is obvious that this is only the beginning of the disaster.

The occupation authorities announced that “more than 25 tons of fuel oil were collected off the coast of Kerch,” “cleanup work is underway near Lake Tobechikske,” and allegedly “fuel oil is being extracted from the sea using special equipment.”

The bags of fuel oil collected by volunteers are carried back to the sea due to the storm. 

The fact is that since December 20, oil spills have been found en masse on the Azov coast of the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region, where fuel oil from the Kerch Strait could not have gotten so quickly.
These 27 kilometers of pollution, from the Stepanovska Spit landscape reserve to the border with the Kherson region, including parts of the Fedotova Spit and Peresyp Spit landscape reserves, are probably related to the accident of another vessel, which the aggressor is silent about.

It is obvious that this catastrophe, which was a direct consequence of the aggressor’s mismanagement, is only just unfolding and its consequences will be long-term and irreversible.

Greenpeace Ukraine said in a statement that 4,300 tons of fuel oil and possibly other oil products are currently spilling into the waters of the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov after two tankers sank in a storm. Both Russian tankers were carrying fuel for the Russian fleet.

“Any spill of oil or oil products in these waters could have serious consequences. The spill would likely be driven by the prevailing winds and currents, which are currently moving northeast, and in the current weather conditions, it would be very difficult to contain. If the pollution washes ashore, it would cause shoreline contamination that would be very difficult to clean up. The environmental impact would depend on the type of oil spilled. Heavy residual oil products such as fuel oil tend to have a more noticeable impact, including on marine fauna. Given the potential for such a significant environmental impact, the focus must be on trying to minimize further spillage. If the ships sink, there is the potential for a prolonged release of oil and petroleum products," says Dr Paul Johnston, head of Greenpeace's research laboratories at the University of Exeter in the UK.

Vorona Dmitry, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, reported that among the target indicators provided for by the "Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Azov Region until 2040"
it is planned that the salinity of the Sea of Azov will be reduced by 1-2%.
According to preliminary studies, its reduction by even 0.5-0.6% will increase the economic potential of the reservoir by 32%.
This will allow release into the sea with an acceptable survival rate of up to 78.1 million specimens of young Russian sturgeon, 204.8 million - young stellate sturgeon and 1.3 million - young beluga. Populations of mullet and turbot will also be restored.

An important condition and support for the implementation of these tasks is the creation of a network of transport infrastructure in all territories around the sea, which will include roads and railways, bridges, ports, ferries and water transport - all the logistics necessary for the smooth operation of the tourism sector, industry and agriculture.

The developers of the Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Azov Region and other representatives of the expert community believe that it is promising to use the Volga-Don Canal to transfer water from the Volga to the Don for the subsequent increase in the inflow of fresh water into the Azov Sea, Marina Borisyuk, Advisor on the Development of the Azov Sea, told TASS.

"The use of the Volga-Don Canal, thanks to which part of the Volga flow could be transferred to the Don River for the subsequent replenishment of fresh water in the Taganrog Bay of the Azov Sea, is certainly very relevant, but requires modern scientific research since climatic conditions have now changed somewhat not only in all regions of the Russian Federation but also in the world," Borisyuk noted, talking about the projects that were considered during the discussion of plans for the development of the Azov Region.

The Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) presented the President of Russia with a strategy for the development of the Azov region until 2040. It includes measures to restore the ecology of the Azov Sea, as well as the development of fisheries and tourism potential.

The President of Russia instructed the government to approve the strategy for the development of the Azov region until 2040 by September.

The strategy covers five areas: industry, recreation, transport infrastructure, ecology, and stocking the Azov Sea with fish.

Among the goals provided for in the "Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Azov Region until 2040", it is planned that the salinity of the Azov Sea will be reduced.

Fish and dolphins are dying en masse in the Sea of Azov. Given the temperature and time of year, this situation may indicate disease in the water. Fish plague often occurs in the Sea of Azov during heat waves in July. For the beginning of June, this situation is not typical.

Doctor of Biological Sciences Ivan Rusev also wrote about the danger for dolphins from the Russian military sonar and navigation devices: they "disable" the organs of hearing that serve these animals for orientation in space. When a dolphin is hit so hard by such waves, it becomes disoriented. He cannot catch fish for himself and cannot travel, in this state, he falls on mines, is washed ashore, starves, cannot support himself and dies.

The Mariupol City Council reported a "threat of a complete measurement of the Sea of Azov" due to the bombing of the Azovstal metallurgical plant.  Due to hostilities, the technical structure containing tens of thousands of tons of hydrogen sulfide solution could be damaged. A leak of this liquid can completely kill off flora and fauna of the Sea of Azov, the Mariupol City Council noted. They emphasized that these dangerous substances can reach the Black and Mediterranean seas.

The press service of the State Environmental Inspection reported examining water samples from the Sea of Azov on the territory of the Azovstal yacht club. There, water pollution by paints and varnishes was found.
The inspection visited the place of pollution. It was determined that some of the paint from the pier had spilled into the sea. The total area of distribution of the pollutant was 1.1 thousand square meters.

Specialists of the State Ecological Inspectorate called specialists from the Mariupol branch of SE "USPA," who promptly used the sorbent to collect the film and localize colorful spots on the surface of seawater.

The Sea of Azov suffers from the dominance of jellyfish - these marine inhabitants have become so numerous that the entire sea surface resembles jelly.

Ecologists say that the invasion of jellyfish is associated with an increase in their number in the Black Sea, and they penetrate the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait.

Plans to expand marine and coastal Marine Protected Areas(MPAs) PAs have been underway but have been hampered by the annexation of Crimea. 

Plans have included an expansion of the Karkinitsky Bay PA and new MPAs along the Crimean coast, west of the Sea of Azov, which were planned to be delivered by 2023. These plans would have resulted in 19 new MPAs along the Crimean coast of the Black Sea, with a significant increase of much-needed protection for the ecologically important Kerch Straits. Ukrainian conservationists have also proposed that the entirety of the western section of the Azov Sea – some 14,251 km2 – be designated as one continuous MPA.

As a result of Russia's annexation of Crimea and the occupation of Donetsk, Ukraine has lost access to much of its southern and southeastern coastline.

Ukraine lost access to 11 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) within its coastal zone.

Environmentalists say 1,200 industrial enterprises discharge wastewater into the Sea of Azov. The primary sources of pollution are industrial enterprises and ports of Mariupol - the Azovstal plant, named after Ilyich, the Azovmash concern. The total harmful discharges are estimated at 5 billion cubic meters annually.

Ecologists turned to the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine with a request to check compliance with the ban on trawling in the Sea of Azov, but the situation has changed little since then. At the same time, residents note that compared to the “dashing nineties,” the number of poachers has dramatically decreased. Still, it is no longer clear what was the main reason for this - the efforts of the authorities or simply a catastrophic reduction in fish stocks.

The ecology of the Sea of Azov suffered irreparable damage: 4 barges were sunk in the Kerch Strait, six ships were stranded, and two oil tankers were damaged. As a result, the fauna of the reservoir was polluted with 1300 tons of fuel oil and 6800 tons of sulfur.