The court ordered tanker owners to pay more than 34 billion rubles for the fuel oil spill.
The Krasnodar Krai Arbitration Court awarded three companies over 34 billion rubles in damages for a fuel oil spill in the Kerch Strait. The spill caused damage to the Anapa and Temryuk districts and the outskirts of Novorossiysk, killing tens of thousands of birds.
Arbitration court Of the Krasnodar Territory satisfied the claim of the regional Ministry of Natural Resources, collecting jointly from three companies more than 34 billion 220 million rubles for environmental damage. The defendants in the case were Volgatransneft CJSC, KamaTransOil LLC, and Kama Shipping LLC.
Damages from the fuel oil spill: what the court assessed
The main damage was to the habitat of rare fauna species—the court estimated it at more than 34 billion 123 million rubles. 89,16 hectares of land were negatively impacted. Anapa и Temryuk districts, and also under Novorossiysk. The pollution zone included 45 hectares of the Anapa Peresyp natural park, the Solenoe Lake natural monument, the Zhelezny Rog and Panagia capes, etc.
In this area, feeding, nesting and wintering sites of birds listed in the Red Book of the region and the Russian Federation (oystercatcher, avocet, black-winged stilt, kenned plover, great black-headed gull, Caspian tern, etc.) were damaged, as well as habitats of the western variegated lizard and the Sarmatian moton beetle.
The damage from the destruction of wildlife amounted to 93,6 million ₽. Tens of thousands of birds, including those listed in the Red Book, died. The court awarded 3,1 million rubles for soil pollution in a protected area: the protected area of Lake Solenoye was contaminated with oil products to a depth of up to 20 cm.
Rosprirodnadzor requirements and company finances
Rosprirodnadzor previously filed claims against Kama Shipping LLC and Volgatransneft CJSC for nearly 85 billion rubles. However, the agency's head Svetlana Radionova stated that it “sees no desire” on the part of tanker owners to pay off this debt.
It is quite possible that the companies simply do not have sufficient funds to compensate for environmental damage, since Kama Shipping's loss in 2023 amounted to approximately 14,5 million rubles, while Volgatransneft's loss was 61 million rubles.
Read about the most serious environmental disaster in Russia since the beginning of the 21st century—the oil spill in the Kerch Strait—in our cards.
