Kerch Strait oil pollution monitoring results

16 July 2008

SCANEX Center has summarized the initial findings of Kerch Strait oil pollution operational monitoring based on radar imagery data.

The main source of the oil pollution according to space images acquired on June 29 – July 13, 2008 is the sunken fore of the Volgoneft-139 oil tanker that broke apart and sank in Kerch Strait near Tuzla foreland during the November 2007 storm.

Despite the crude oil recovery job performed on the fore of the wrecked ship, oil products still emerge on the surface within the ship sinking area and spread through the action of the wind and current in the form of thin threadlike oil slicks of 5-14 km long. The size of slicks, clearly visible on all SCANEX’s images, varies from 400 thousand sq. m to 1 sq. km. According to July 3 imagery data part of oil products of about 260 thousand sq. m. has reached the Taman peninsular seashore.

Other water area pollution spots has been also detected during monitoring process, e.g. oil dumps 64 000 sq.m. in size from a passing-by vessel (coordinates: E36°30’11” N45°7’ 9”), as well as facts of pollution of seaport zones.

Volgoneft-139 oil tanker pollution imagery data have been quickly transmitted to the National Crisis Management Center, All-Russian R&D Institute for Civil Defense and Emergency Issues, “Antistikhiya” Center of Emercom, ESIMO Center (Unified Information System on the World Ocean), and to Maritime Rescue Coordination Center.

This space imagery session results revealed that the oil booms, deployed within the sinking area of the ship fore part, were not efficient. According to the Russian Ministry of Transportation the decision was made to surface the fore of the wrecked oil tanker and move it to scrap metal recycling dockyard.

Satellite-based monitoring of Kerch Strait area demonstrated the possibilities of oil spills real-time detection in water areas and enabled to enter into cooperation, to concur data exchange formats and to set up real-time satellite data transmission channels.

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Source: ScanEx