After the broadscale ecological catastrophe developed with the disaster of Russian tankers “Volgoneft-212” and “Volgoneft-239” near Kerch Strait on 15th December 2024, our Association started campaign on communication the international structures regarding that issue immediately.
Our campaign on that ecologic tragedy is realizing in various legal, procedural and organisational frameworks on regional and global levels with some key demands, including total ban for all Russia’s “Volgoneft” type tankers for any international shipping and usage, also as the sanctions and full disqualification on the aggressor’s state “Russian Classification Society”, former “Russian River Register” etc.
Later the preliminary results of our campaign, devoted to damage to Crimea’s ecosystems and sustainable development will be highlighted, as the fruitful negotiations are ongoing with some international institutions just now, but today we want to inform our readers about the official position of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) on that issue.
In letter to our Association, dated 16th January 2025, Ms. Heike Deggim, Director of the IMO’s Marine Environment Division, stressed, that the IMO Secretariat, “acknowledge the gravity of these events and their impact on the environment and would like to express our sincere sympathies with all those affected, including local communities that are facing significant challenges as a result”.
IMO official stressed in the letter that Organisation “is closely monitoring the situation and gathering all pertinent information to establish a comprehensive understanding of these incidents”, and confirmed that they “note your observations regarding the use of Volgoneft-type oil tankers and your concerns regarding the safety and security of the areas where they still operate”. Later we will inform about our Association’s next steps on this issue.
