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Storm Sinks Ships, Spills Oil in Black Sea

By Chris Baldwin,
Reuters
Posted: 2007-11-12 11:29:38
Filed Under: World News
ILYICH, Russia (Nov. 12) - Russian rescue helicopters searched for five missing seamen on Monday after a storm in the northern mouth of the Black Sea , while a slick of oil from a sunken tanker began washing onto beaches.

Rescue officials said three people died in the storm that struck the narrow straits between the Black Sea and the Azov Sea on Sunday, sinking a small oil tanker and at least four freighters and leaving other ships stranded on the shoreline. The ships were battered by waves as high as 18 feet.

The dead sailors wearing life vests washed up near Tuzla on the western side of the strait, said Emergency Situations spokesman Sergei Kozhemyaka.

Birds seeking shelter on the shore near the center of the storm were covered in a treacly mixture of oil and seaweed -- the first evidence of what one Russian official called an "environmental disaster."

The sea was calm again by Monday but at Novorossiisk, Russia's second biggest port for exports of oil and oil products, officials had ordered tankers not to dock because a second storm was on its way.

Nikolai Lityuk, regional head of Russia's Emergencies Ministry, said the navy had been called in to help with the search and rescue operation, and the clean-up.

"Our main aim is to find the ... people who are missing," he told reporters at the port of Kavkaz, where the operation's headquarters have been set up. "The second objective is to deal with the consequences of the oil spill."

Earlier, rescue officials had said they were searching for eight missing seamen but this was revised to five after three bodies were recovered.

"Three helicopters and 11 rescue ships are taking part in the (search) operation," Emergencies Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov told Reuters by telephone.

OIL-COVERED BIRDS

The oil spill came from the Volgoneft-139, a small Russian oil tanker which broke in two during the storm when it was off the Ukrainian port of Kerch.

Officials said it had spilled at least 1.3 million gallons of fuel oil. In cold weather, the thick, treacly substance is liable to sink to the seabed instead of dispersing, making the clean-up harder.

At the coastal settlement of Ilyich, halfway between Kavkaz and Novorossiisk, about 100 workers were on the beach using shovels and a bulldozer to scrape globules of oil off the sand.

"This oil came in last night, along [an 8-mile] stretch," said Alexander Mikhalkov, foreman of the clean-up crew.

A flock of about 1,000 rails, a species of wetland bird, were huddled on the beach, unable to fly because their feathers were coated with oil. Some were unable to stand.

Cleanup workers said wild dogs had been taking advantage of the birds' condition to attack them. A Reuters reporter found a number of the birds on the beach with their heads torn off.

Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of Russia's environment agency Rosprirodnadzor, said the spill could take years to fix. "This is a very serious environmental disaster," he said on Sunday.

Russian officials said shipping in the area had been warned well in advance of heavy storms but some captains had ignored the advice and put to sea.

The polluted area is at the heart of the migration route from central Siberia into the Black Sea of red-throated and black-throated Siberian diver birds.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Copyright 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-11-12 09:23:54
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1114 comments

Kaitlinkittykat 08:33:00 PM Nov 15 2007

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just because no one posted comments on this.
im gonna be nice and keep posting cause i care.
those birds have such a hard life.
i love you birdies

Kaitlinkittykat 08:26:00 PM Nov 15 2007

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that is so terrible.
all those birds covered in oil.

The Mama Bat 09:29:00 AM Nov 13 2007

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I read that 30,000 oil covered birds are dying on the Russian beaches. I am a supportor of The World Wildlife Organization, and I have to ask,"Where are you?".

paulsaline 09:07:00 AM Nov 13 2007

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synthetic rubber too. Sorry- not. This still does not diminish the value of the most non-threatening source of nuke power we know- that of our sun.

Every day one wakes up is a good day.
Every day you can put your feet on the ground is even a better day.
Every day the sun shines is always the best day.
Do not forget this.

paulsaline 09:01:00 AM Nov 13 2007

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OOPS- I forgot to add plastics.

paulsaline 09:00:00 AM Nov 13 2007

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Now, even here in the US we have another major spill.

We need crude for heli's and for tanks and frieght.

Reg. trans. only needs electric.

So we need the wind and the sun- this ain't so bad- in fact this is good.

issac311 03:51:00 AM Nov 13 2007

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The russians are stealing oil from the artic. To bad they get all the money from it while we spend millions protecting deer. America, you are stupid. Sheeple.

sparkster055 10:47:05 PM Nov 12 2007

Report This!

MBC18650 09:37:12 PM Nov 12 2007

Report This! Green technology can be to our future, what the computer boom was to th epast twenty five years.

Unfortunately, our current President isn't bright enough to see that.
***********************************
MBC another granola eater i see............so your on the Blame Bush for this campaign i see...LOOK...eco tech has been around since the 60's you idiot and blaming bush is stupid....You liberals have a one track mind because you live in a bubble ...thinking about UTOPIA and Al Gore...you won't know jack if it wasn't for what happened with air/water polution in the 60's....
get off your dead horse and quit blaming the current president.....nobody has a magic stick .......

sigas1 10:15:55 PM Nov 12 2007

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thank you mbc for explaining it so well for all of us.please keep it up.

sparkster055 10:13:10 PM Nov 12 2007

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whats a little oil JC no big deal it will jell up and go to the bottom.
if you want to blame someone

Blame AL GORE...he's a idiot LOL

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