Devastating vision has been shared with Yahoo News after two tankers spilled oil across a 50-kilometre stretch of Russia’s coastline. The incident was sparked by wild weather on Sunday, contaminating tourist beaches in the Black Sea and maiming wildlife.
Perhaps most devastating of all is a video discovered by marine mammal advocates on a Russian language Telegram channel. Completely coated with thick oil, it’s not immediately apparent what animal we are looking at. But as volunteers in the northern Black Sea town of Anapa clean away the thick black sludge it becomes clear it’s a dead porpoise.
They describe the animal as looking “very fresh”, leading investigators to conclude it was killed directly by the oil. “It is impossible to clean it off. It’s completely covered in fuel, even the blowhole,” a volunteer from Dolphin Rescue Center Delfa says in Russian.
A marine mammal was discovered coated in oil following the disasters. Source: Telegram
Dolphin expert ‘fears the worst’ as oil slicks choke Black Sea
The Black Sea is home to three cetacean species: bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, and harbour porpoises. An expert in Russian dolphins, who requested she not be named, identified the animal as a female harbour porpoise that was approximately one metre long.
Responding to the incident, she said “We fear the worst but continue to hope for the best possible outcome following this environmental disaster.”
Separate vission shared to Telegram shows sand and water in front of an Anapa beachfront home being inundated with oil.
Putin labels incidents an ‘ecological disaster’
On Thursday, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin described the oil spill as an “environmental disaster”. He confirmed authorities are assessing whether the ships’ captains violated rules by not seeking shelter during the storm.
“Why am I saying that this is a major disaster, a catastrophe? Because almost 40 per cent of the fuel has leaked. This is quite clear, it’s already obvious,” he said.
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