Birds Suffer Severe Impact from Recent Black Sea Oil Spill Amid Official Containment Claims

A recent oil spill in the Black Sea has resulted in the deaths and injuries of an increasing number of birds along Russia’s southern shoreline, according to wildlife experts this week, despite government assurances that the situation has been brought under control.

Authorities indicated that approximately 30 cubic meters of oil, equivalent to around 200 barrels, escaped during the loading process at the Novorossiysk port on August 29. A remote sensing specialist from Russia’s Maritime Rescue Service informed state media that the spill is believed to affect an area of about 350 square kilometers (135 square miles).

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which manages the oil terminal, announced that cleanup operations were completed by August 30 and stated that air and water quality tests indicated pollution levels were back to normal.

A local wildlife rehabilitation center mentioned that they have been receiving water birds covered in oil along the shores near Novorossiysk and Anapa, a well-known tourist spot. Staff reported that many birds exhibited symptoms of chemical burns, poisoning, and dehydration.

«Birds are being collected around the clock, with many found dead,» the center posted on Telegram on Tuesday, following an earlier update that three out of 24 birds brought in for care had already succumbed.

Environmental specialists informed the news outlet Kedr that the oil released in this recent incident has proven to be significantly more detrimental to birds than the heavy fuel oil, or mazut, that was spilled in the Black Sea last December. The August 29 incident marks at least the twelfth reported oil spill in the area since that December occurrence.