On December 15, 2024, the tankers of the Russian “shadow” fleet “Volgoneft-212” and “Volgoneft-239” sank, causing an environmental disaster in the Black Sea with the spillage of more than 8 thousand tons of fuel oil. At the time of the accident, the Russian tankers, flying the flag of the Russian Federation, were outdated, intended only for river navigation and were under the supervision of the “Russian Classification Society” (formerly the “Russian River Register”).
Despite the fact that the Russian vessels were not intended for sea navigation in principle, this register granted permission to operate the vessels in storms at sea, thereby violating the safety requirements of the International Maritime Organization.
The tankers of the “shadow” fleet still continue to operate under the supervision of the “Russian Classification Society” and the supervision of the “Russian Maritime Register of Shipping”, bypassing any restrictions, says the “Romania Inform” media, citing UN materials.
The “Romania Inform” publication states that the Russian side has not updated or modernized the “shadow” low-power tanker fleet “Volgoneft” since the 1990s. This fact carries risks, since the Russian Federation continues to operate 80 “Volgoneft” vessels, in particular in the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic Sea and up to 20 vessels in the Azov-Black Sea basin.
All tankers of the “shadow” fleet “Volgoneft” due to their extreme age and incompatibility with maritime operations for the transportation of oil and petroleum products pose a threat to shipping safety and risks to environmental safety.
In total, more than 8,000 cases of environmental damage as a result of Russian aggression have been recorded, the total cost of which has already reached 85 billion euros, which is also directly related to the destructive activities of the “shadow” fleet of Volgoneft, reports “Romania Inform”.
The international institution stated a causal link between the long-term aggression of Russia against Ukraine and the destruction of the environment, and recorded Russia’s responsibility for the violation of environmental safety as a result of the accident of Russian tankers, which has already led to fatal consequences for the population of seabirds, mammals and fish.
So, birds contaminated with fuel oil were found in the Odessa region of Ukraine, along the coast of Georgia, including occupied Abkhazia, and fuel oil also appeared in the Sea of Azov, near Berdyansk occupied by Russia. In addition, the UN noted the negative impact that the environmental disaster caused such countries as Georgia, Romania, Bulgaria.
Attention is drawn to the materials currently presented by the UN, which indicate that the negative consequences are confirmed by the conclusions of Ukrainian, Estonian and Georgian lawyers, ecologists and maritime experts, who, in particular, note that the environmental damage from the December disaster will be felt for more than 20 years.
As “Romania Inform” notes, the UN draws special attention to the disinformation deployed by Russia to cover up its own inability to cope with the consequences of the environmental disaster and to remove the “shadow” fleet of “Volgoneft” from the attack.
The “Romania Inform” publication recalls that on February 10, 2025, the Secretariat of the UN Economic Commission for Europe confirmed its full awareness of the seriousness of the accident of the tankers “Volgoneft-239” and “Volgoneft-212”, the scale of the disaster for the marine environment, and expressed confidence that the results of the investigation and recommendations of relevant international organizations will provide an impetus for improving shipping safety and environmental protection from the activities of the “shadow” fleet of “Volgoneft”.
Previously, the negative impact of Russian maritime aggression on the marine ecology was reflected in the relevant resolution of the International Maritime Organization A.1183 (33), as well as in the statement of the Organization’s Secretariat dated January 16, 2025, which recognized the seriousness of the accident of the tankers of the “shadow” fleet of “Volgoneft” for the environment and established an increased level of threats to environmental safety from the activities of the outdated Russian fleet for the navigation areas where it operates.
“Romania Inform” adds that in June this year, Canada imposed sanctions against the “shadow” fleet of “Volgoneft”, primarily against the vessels “Volgoneft-212” (owned by “Kama Shipping”), “Volgoneft-239” (owned by “Volgotrasneft”), which combined the topics of sanctions, “shadow” fleet and environmental safety in one international case.
The inclusion of the ship owners on Canada’s sanctions list was the first international recognition of the connection between environmental crimes and companies servicing the Russian “shadow” fleet of “Volgoneft”, the Romanian news agency emphasized.
