An oil slick discovered off the coast of Anapa is believed to have been caused by a Russian tanker accident. The vessel in question is the Sofia, a Russian-flagged vessel in the «shadow fleet.»
Approximately 28 tons of oil-containing mixture have already been collected from the water’s surface, with over a thousand people and over two hundred pieces of equipment involved. However, the resources deployed are insufficient to fully address the spill, and current regulations provide for overly limited resources for such incidents.
Reports of the pollution emerged on April 11: an oil slick was discovered in the Black Sea approximately 11 kilometers from the coast and began drifting toward Anapa. The Krasnodar Krai task force reported that it had been treated with biosorbent and booms had been installed, but the spread of the pollution had not been stopped. More than 200 dead and oil-covered birds were also found on the coast.
According to an analysis of Sentinel-1 satellite images conducted by a group of environmentalists led by Alexey Knizhnikov, the contaminated area reached 117 square kilometers, and the spill volume was 300–350 tons.
