Scientists have assessed the prospects for the Black Sea coast following pollution in Tuapse.

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The oil spill that entered the Black Sea following the drone attack in Tuapse is expanding. The environmental outlook for the coast is bleak, as are the prospects for the resort season.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," a fire broke out at an oil terminal in the port of Tuapse on the night of April 20 following a drone attack. Residents reported that "an oil rain" had fallen in the city and considered the burning oil terminal a source of environmental threat. On the afternoon of April 24, the governor of Kuban announced that the fire at the port had been extinguished. On April 25, tour operators announced that air pollution from the fire and the oil spill in Tuapse had affected the industrial zone, and popular hotels were located tens of kilometers from the port. No decline in resort tour sales is expected.

Air pollution in the Tuapse area and the oil spill, their impact on the environment and the upcoming resort season, were discussed on April 26 by a Russian scientist, who spoke anonymously, and Igor Shkradyuk, coordinator of the industrial greening program at the Wildlife Conservation Center, in a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The anonymous scientist reported that the fuel oil slick has already reached the village of Tyumensky. "Right now, people from the coast are reporting that in the Tyumensky area, people are seeing a large fuel oil slick in the sea. Therefore, all resorts up to Tyumensky have already been affected in one way or another. According to the latest data, it hasn't reached Olginka yet. Why hasn't it? Because there's a strong wind, which pushes the fuel oil toward the shore and doesn't spread it as quickly. But there's a good chance it will reach it. But you just need to pay attention to the wind—that will tell you a lot about the outlook. And satellite images show that large slicks still remain there. So, of course, the outlook for the coast is still bleak," he noted.

Of course, the Black Sea is large, and all this dissipates, but it still worsens water quality.

The expert noted that the storm that occurred in recent days greatly mixed the water with oil products, causing a significant portion of them to dissolve. "The greater the mixing, the more polluted the water itself becomes. Not the surface of the water, but the water itself." "Of course, the Black Sea is large, and all this dissipates, but it still degrades water quality," he emphasized.

Speaking about the impact of pollution on resorts, the expert stated that the primary concern would be beach pollution. "There are many pebble beaches there, and pebbles are very difficult to clean from fuel oil. Any petroleum products, especially heavy ones like fuel oil and crude oil, sink into pebble beaches, making them very difficult to clean. That is, they remain there for a very long time," he noted, emphasizing that all resorts where fuel oil spills have been recorded are already 100% unsafe.

"Storms throw these products quite high; such storms are rare, and therefore the natural cleaning of pebble beaches will take a long time." "Their danger lies in the fact that when heated, when the temperature rises, and especially when heated by the sun, they will release highly toxic petroleum vapors. People lying on them, or even walking on them, will be poisoned by the vapors of various fractions of these petroleum products," the scientist noted.

The entire marine ecosystem suffers greatly from this.

He also noted the significant threat to the ecosystem. "The threat to the ecosystem exists. Moreover, it has already been realized where this pollution occurred. And, as far as I know, there are spawning grounds for marine fish right there." "Due to the settling of fuel oil on the seabed over time and the evaporation of light fractions, fish, including fry and eggs, breathe dissolved oxygen at all stages of their life cycle, consume oxygen from the water, and, accordingly, also filter dissolved oil products from this water. Consequently, they are exposed to toxic effects. Overall, this pollution affects the seabed, the water column, and the surface. Therefore, the entire marine ecosystem suffers greatly from this," he emphasized.

Regarding the need for government intervention, the expert believes the first step is to conduct a thorough sample analysis to determine the extent of pollution on the coast and adjacent marine areas. "We need to collect samples of bottom sediments, water samples at various depths, and, of course, samples of beach soil, be it sand, pebbles, or fine gravel." These samples need to be analyzed. But not only analyzed – information on the results of these studies needs to be published. This is what the authorities are obligated to do first and foremost. Then it will be clear where measures need to be taken, and where they should be taken first. And in areas where pollution is already completely obvious and clear without any research, shoreline cleanup teams need to be strengthened. And for this, professional emergency rescue teams need to be redeployed from other regions. Including emergency rescue teams from Rosneft and its contractors. These are trained teams with professional equipment, with a sufficient supply of various resources. This is a very large company, with numerous facilities in various parts of the country, including in the European part. And Rosneft needs to redeploy these professional emergency rescue teams. They should be the ones doing the cleanup, not volunteers. Volunteers are great, but this should be done by specially trained, specially prepared, and equipped people. "This is exactly what the authorities need to do now," he concluded.

Igor Shkradyuk also noted that the sea current is carrying oil along the coast northwest toward Gelendzhik, and the wind is blowing in the same direction. "We can expect that the oil has already arrived or will soon arrive at Olginka," he stated.

All resorts with refineries, oil depots, and oil ports, where oil could arrive, are unsafe.

Shkradyuk was rather skeptical about the prospects for the resort season. "It's only April. New drone attacks, new fires, and spills are possible before and during the resort season. All resorts with refineries, oil depots, and oil ports, where oil could reach, are unsafe. On the Black Sea coast, the Imereti Valley and Abkhazia are considered relatively safe. But if Adler Airport is closed due to drone attacks, it will be difficult to escape. Leaving Crimea could also prove difficult in the event of an attack on the Crimean Bridge," he noted.

Regarding the danger to the ecosystem and assistance in combating the consequences, Shkradyuk, on the contrary, emphasized the need for volunteers to participate in the response to the environmental disaster. "The task force says that state rescue organizations and Rosneft are quickly cleaning the shoreline; volunteer assistance is not required. But government agencies don't care about living creatures. Oil in the sea is most dangerous for birds and dolphins. Unfortunately, birds with more than 15% of their plumage stained with oil cannot be saved. The oil permeates the feathers and corrodes the skin. By scraping oil from its feathers with its beak, the bird ingests the poison. Oil rain on land doesn't mean a solid layer of oil. It's droplets of soot mixed with petroleum products. Therefore, birds and pets that have been caught in the rain can and should be washed. Currently, dozens of volunteers in Tuapse and villages from Tyumensky to Shepsi are washing primarily cats and dogs. "There's a shortage of volunteers. The work is difficult, and it's mostly women. Men's help is desperately needed," he said.

As a reminder, on the night of April 20, a drone attack caused a fire at an oil terminal in the port of Tuapse. Residents reported that "oil rain" had fallen in the city and considered the burning oil terminal a source of environmental threat. On the afternoon of April 24, the governor of Kuban announced that the fire at the port had been extinguished.

On April 22, authorities acknowledged that benzene, xylene, and soot concentrations in the air in areas near the marine terminal (Grozneft, Sortirovka, and Zvezdny, as well as part of the Central District) had exceeded permissible levels by two to three times. These data were based on measurements taken on the evening of April 21. The fire at the marine terminal poses a risk due to the release of combustion products, which are carcinogenic and toxic. The "black rain" that fell in Tuapse reduced the level of harmful substances in the air, but led to soil pollution, environmentalists emphasized.

Air pollution from the fire and oil spill in Tuapse affected the industrial zone, and popular hotels are located tens of kilometers from the port, tour operators stated. They noted that no decline in sales of resort packages is expected.

On December 15, 2024, two fuel oil tankers sank in the Kerch Strait. A crew member from one of the tankers died as a result. In addition, an oil spill occurred, leading to catastrophic environmental consequences, according to the Caucasian Knot report "Fuel Oil Spill in the Kerch Strait".

Materials on the consequences of the fuel oil spill have been collected by the Caucasian Knot on the page "Eco-disaster in Kuban".