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MV Volgoneft-212

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Volgoneft-212 in 2018
History
NameVolgoneft-212
Owner
Operator2014: Kama Shipping
Port of registry
BuilderVolgograd shipyard, Volgograd
Yard number908
Completed15 December 1969
Refit2024
Identification
Fatebroke in two, 15 December 2024
General characteristics
Class and typeProject 1577 tanker
Tonnage3,566 GRT, 1,760 NRT
Displacement6,513 tonnes
Length
  • 1969: 132.6 m (435 ft)
  • 2024: 136 m (446 ft)
Beam16.9 m (55 ft)
Draught3.62 m (11.9 ft)
Depth5.5 m (18 ft)
Decks1
Installed power2 × diesel engines; 2 × 736 kW
Propulsion2 × screws
Speed11 knots (20 km/h)
Crew22 or 23

MV Volgoneft-212 (Волгонефть-212) was a Project 1577 tanker that was built in the Soviet Union in 1969. She broke in two in a storm in the Kerch Strait in 2024, causing the 2024 Kerch Strait oil spill. Another Project 1577 tanker, Volgoneft-239, ran aground nearby in the same storm. Volgoneft-212 is not the first Project 1577 tanker to have broken in two in a heavy sea. Volgoneft-248 did so in similar circumstances in the Sea of Marmara in 1999.

Description

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Project 1577 is a Soviet design of tanker that was intended for use on the USSR's large, navigable rivers.[1] The Volgograd shipyard ("Волгоградский судостроительный завод") in Volgograd built many of them.[2] Volgoneft-239 was built as yard number 908, and completed on 15 December 1969.[3] As built, her length was 132.6 m (435 ft). Her beam was 16.9 m (55 ft) was, and her depth 5.5 m (18 ft). Her tonnages were 3,566 GRT and 1,760 NRT. When laden with a full cargo of 4,875 tonnes of kerosene, her draught is 3.62 m (11.9 ft), and she displaced 6,513 tonnes. She had two fixed-pitch screws, each driven by a 8NVD48A diesel engine rated at 736 kW. Her twin engines gave her a speed of 11 knots (20 km/h). She also had twin rudders. She had berths for 22 or 23 crew.[1]

Volgoneft-212 was originally owned by Volgotanker and registered in Kuybyshevsky Zaton. In 2006 her registration was transferred to Samara.[3] In 2014, KamaTransOil acquired the ship and appointed Kama Shipping to manage her.[4][5] At the same time, her registration was transferred to St Petersburg. Her IMO number was 7024976, her Russian registration number was 089722, and her call sign was UBQB2.[3]

Refit

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Project 1577 was designed only for river use, but Volgotanker later used them at sea. One Russian source stated that Volgoneft-212 was unfit for service in sea conditions with waves more than 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) high. In seas any higher than 2.5 metres, waves could lift her fore and aft, and leave her unsupported amidships, which could cause her structural damage.[5]

One source states that Volgoneft-212 was re-fitted in 2024, and that her refit included cutting her in two and joining her together again. The same source claims that her length was 136 m (446 ft),[6] which is 3.4 m (11 ft) longer than a standard Project 1577 tanker.[1] Therefore, she seems to have been slightly lengthened during her refit.

Loss

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Main article: 2024 Kerch Strait oil spill

On 10 November 2024, Volgoneft-212 Saratov for Port Kavkaz on the Kerch Strait.[5] This was one of two trips she made carrying oil from the Rosneft oil refinery there. She also made a trip carrying oil from the Rosneft refinery at Syzran.[4]

On the morning of 15 December 2024, a storm caught Volgoneft-212 and one of her sister ships, Volgoneft-239, in the Black Sea just south of the Kerch Strait. Volgoneft-212 broke in two, and her bow section sank. She was fully laden with a cargo of about 4,300 tons of mazut, and this started leaking into the sea. All 13 members of her crew gathered on her bridge and donned lifejackets, expecting to be rescued by the rescue tug Mercuriy (Меркурий). They were about to launch the a liferaft when a Mil Mi-8 helicopter arrived and airlifted them to safety.[5] However, one crew member later died of hypothermia.[7]

Volgoneft-239 was damaged; drifted; and grounded about 80 metres (260 ft) from the shore near Taman in Krasnodar Krai.[8] The next day, all 14 of Volgoneft-239's crew were rescued. Interfax reported that of the 26 survivors from the two tankers, 11 were in a serious condition in hospital.[7]

Investigation

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On 15 December, the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia (IC) for Crimea and Sevastopol launched criminal investigations into the loss of both ships.[9] Within hours, after it was known that a member of Volgoneft-212's crew died, the IC reclassified its investigation into the loss of that ship to the more serious offence of "Violation of the rules and operation of maritime transport, resulting in the death of a person by negligence".[10] On 18 December, the captains of both tankers were criminally charged,[11] and on 19 December, both men appeared in court. The court put the captain of Volgoneft-212 in pre-trial detention for two months,[12] and placed the captain of Volgoneft-239 under house arrest for two months.[13]

Also on 19 December, in his annual "Results of the Year" news conference, President Vladimir Putin blamed the two captains. He said that other ships sought safe anchorages before the storm, but the captains of Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 failed to do so.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Волгонефть type, design 1577". FleetPhoto (in Russian). Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  2. ^ "Rousse Shipyard". FleetPhoto (in Russian). Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Волгонефть-239". FleetPhoto (in Russian). Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Two Russian tankers wreck in Kerch Strait storm, killing one sailor and risking 'one of largest environmental disasters' ever in Black Sea". Meduza. 15 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Настевич, Сергей; Матвеева, Антонина; Исламова, Эльза (17 December 2024). "Штормовое предубеждение: что могло привести к трагедии в Керченском проливе". Izvestia (in Russian). Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  6. ^ Harding, Luke (15 December 2024). "Two Russian tankers sink in Black Sea spilling 4,300 tonnes of oil". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  7. ^ a b "All 14 crew members of second stricken Russian oil tanker rescued in Kerch Strait". Novaya Gazeta Europe. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  8. ^ Stolyarov, Gleb (16 December 2024). "Stricken oil tankers show risks of Russia's ageing 'shadow fleet'". Reuters. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  9. ^ "Два уголовных дела возбуждены после ЧП с танкерами в Керченском проливе". Izvestia (in Russian). 15 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  10. ^ "Дело о крушении танкеров переквалифицировано на более тяжкий состав". Izvestia (in Russian). 15 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  11. ^ "Капитанам потерпевших крушение нефтетанкеров "Волгонефть" предъявили обвинения". Izvestia (in Russian). 18 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  12. ^ "Суд на два месяца арестовал капитана потерпевшего крушение в Черном море танкера". Izvestia (in Russian). 19 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  13. ^ "Капитана второго потерпевшего крушение танкера отправили под домашний арест". Izvestia (in Russian). 19 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  14. ^ "Путин назвал экологической бедой разлив мазута в Черном море". Izvestia (in Russian). 19 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
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