The resort town of Anapa in southern Russia filed a lawsuit against the owners of two tanker ships over damages they caused by spilling thousands of tons of oil into the Black Sea late last year.
Anapa City Hall said Monday that it had spent 211 million rubles ($2.4 million) on cleanup efforts since the Dec. 15 oil spill, when the aging tankers Volgoneft-239 and Volgoneft-212 were damaged in a storm.
The oil spill has been described as one of Russia’s worst environmental disasters in decades, contaminating beaches and causing widespread deaths of marine wildlife and seabirds.
“The amount is not final, and the administration intends to increase the claims in the future,” Anapa City Hall said, noting that it was seeking damages to the amount it has spent on cleanup efforts.
The lawsuit, filed in the Krasnodar region arbitration court, names Moscow-based Volgatransneft and Perm-based Kama Shipping as defendants. Regional transportation prosecutors filed separate lawsuits against the two companies in January.
The Krasnodar region court has scheduled hearings for April 7 in yet another lawsuit brought by the Russian Maritime Rescue Service against both companies, according to the business newspaper Kommersant.
Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said Friday that workers and volunteers had removed nearly 150,000 metric tons of contaminated sand from beaches in the Krasnodar region and annexed Crimea. However, the ministry warned that warmer weather has caused more oil slicks to appear off the coast.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
