Russian oil tanker splits in half - BBC

[Eugene]

Source: BBC News

Last Updated: Sunday, 11 November 2007, 11:08 GMT

Russian oil tanker splits in half

A Russian oil tanker has split in half during a
severe storm near the Black Sea, spilling around
1,300 tonnes of fuel oil.

A Russian official said it was a "very serious
environmental disaster", which would take years
to solve.

The vessel was at the Kerch Strait, between the
Azov and Black Seas, when it broke up after being
battered by 5m (16.5ft) high waves on Sunday
morning.

Efforts to rescue the 13 crew are being hampered
by harsh weather conditions.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7089317.stm

[MADem]

1. OH SHIT!!!!!!!!

That's a MASSIVE spill. If it's crude, it turns into these disgusting balls that get kicked up for eons every time there's a storm. And that's assuming that the weather will calm so they can start using boom to contain the thing, which is spreading like crazy the longer time passes.

Ugh. How horrible!

This problem may take a few years to solve. Fuel oil is a heavy substance and it is now sinking to the seabed," said an official from Russia's state environmental protection agency Rosprirodnadzor.

"This is a very serious environmental disaster," Reuters quoted him as telling Russia's state-run Vesti-24 channel.

But the spill is small by comparison with the Prestige disaster off Spain five years ago.
...The tanker was carrying fuel oil from the southern Russian city of Samara on the Volga River to a port in Ukraine.

Another cargo ship carrying 2,000 tonnes of sulphur sank nearby and its nine crew members were rescued.