A Russian oil tanker split in two and began spilling oil into the Kerch Strait during a heavy storm, Russian authorities said on December 15.
The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said one of 13 crew members of the Volgoneft 212 died, but the remainder were rescued. All but one of those brought to safety were taken to a hospital for treatment of hypothermia.
The Volgoneft 212 was carrying around 4,000 tons of fuel oil when it was damaged in what the ministry said was an accident. The 136-meter tanker split and its bow sank, a video published by state media appeared to show. Two parts of the distressed vessel in rough seas are visible in the video, which was released by the Russian Southern Transport Prosecutor's Office.
"There was a spill of petroleum products," said Russia's water transport agency, Rosmorrechflot.
A second tanker, Volgoneft 239 with 14 sailors on board, was also damaged and ran aground 80 meters from the shore near the port of Taman, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
Rescuers are in contact with the crew and are preparing an evacuation, but so far approaching the ship is difficult. According to Baza, the rescue operation has been postponed until the morning.
The statements from Russian authorities did not provide details on the extent of the oil spill or how the tankers were damaged.
The Investigative Committee of Russia reported that two criminal cases have been opened for violating safety rules on the movement and operation of a marine vehicle.
Crew error in adverse weather conditions is being considered as among the causes, a source with the search and rescue services told Interfax. According to preliminary data, the crews of one or both tankers could not cope with the elements and made mistakes in controlling the vessel.
"As a result, one vessel received critical damage to the bow, and the other was also seriously damaged," the source said.
The vessels were were about 7 kilometers from shore in the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, when they issued distress signals. The strait links the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies that President Vladimir Putin ordered the government to set up a working group to deal with the rescue operation and the spill.
Svetlana Radionova, head of Russia's natural resources watchdog Rosprirodnadzor, said specialists were assessing the damage at the site of the incident.