A court in the southern Krasnodar region has frozen the bank accounts of two companies linked to last year’s major oil spill in the Black Sea as part of an ongoing lawsuit over environmental damages.
The Krasnodar region Arbitration Court on Friday upheld a request by the state environmental watchdog Rosprirodnadzor to freeze the accounts of Kamatransoil, owner of the Volgoneft 212 tanker, and its charter company Kama Shipping. Rosprirodnadzor is seeking 49.5 billion rubles ($614 million) in damages from the companies over the December 2024 oil spill.
Last week, the court also ordered Volgatransneft, owner of a second tanker involved in the spill, Volgoneft 239, to pay 35.5 billion rubles ($439 million). The company has vowed to appeal that ruling.
The spill occurred on Dec. 15, when two aging Russian tankers were damaged in a storm, releasing thousands of tons of heavy fuel oil into the sea off the coasts of annexed Crimea and Krasnodar. In the aftermath, thousands of volunteers and emergency crews worked to clean up the oil and remove hundreds of thousands of tons of contaminated sand.
Russia’s Transportation Ministry later said the owners of the vessels and their captains had ignored seasonal navigation restrictions. President Vladimir Putin said in March that the oil spill was caused by “disregard for safety rules and negligence,” leading to “grave consequences for people, the environment and the economy.”
The resort town of Anapa is also seeking 647.43 million rubles ($8 million) in damages from the tankers’ owners, while the Maritime Rescue Service is seeking 485.1 million rubles ($6 million).
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