Black Sea coast from Tuapse to Novorossiysk under threat of oil pollution, ECOSPAS says (photo release)
According to preliminary estimates, oil spill near Tuapse and Novorossiysk covers some 70,000 sqm, Andrei Aprelenko, Director General of Rescue & Environmental Operations Centre OJSC (ECOSPAS), told IAA PortNews.
Operation of Tikhoretsk-Tuapse oil pipeline was suspended at night due to leakage found in the Krasnodar territory. The pipeline supplies oil to Tuapse refinery.
According to Andrei Aprelenko, “pictures show that the scope of the spill is quite large. It is a very serious incident especially amid the storm at sea. The entire Black Sea coast from Tuapse to Novorossiysk is under threat of oil pollution. This is not only about the ports but is also a threat to the Gelendzhik resort area. ECOSPAS has quite a number of teams in the Krasnodar region but nobody has asked us for response so far, probably because we have no official relations with Transneft. We have our teams in Tuapse, Novorossiysk, Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don. We aready to respond”.
According to preliminary information, on December 24, 2014 at 1.29 (Moscow time) an oil spill caused by leakage of Tikhoretsk-Tuapse 2 pipeline was registered near Grechensky settlement of the Tuapse district. There is no information about the volume spilled. The gate valve was closed and oil supply to delivery point Zarechye was terminated.
Rescue & Environmental Operations Centre OJSC was established in 1998. It is the largest professional emergency response unit in Russia. The company provides a full range of services on prevention and response to spills of oil and oil products, servicing of hazardous facilities, response to gas and fire emergencies as well as hazardous waste disposal. 45 ESOCPAS branches operate all over the territory of the Russian Federation.
EOSPAS provides photos from the site
