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The Vezhen Navigation Ltd., which owns the 'Vezhen', is now requesting that the seizure of the ship be released. The company's lawyer believes that the Swedish court is not authorized to continue to hold the ship. In the document submitted to the Stockholm District Court, the lawyer wrote that there are no legal grounds for the seizure of the ship and that there is no legal basis for the Coast Guard's action to follow it outside the port of Karlskrona. The company also says it has not received any justification for the seizure or a case number from the prosecutor.

The fuel oil carried by the 'Volgoneft 212' and 'Volgoneft 239' belonged to the state-owned Rosneft, Russia’s Ministry of Transport has confirmed. The information came to light via the ministry’s written response to an inquiry by Alexei Kurinny, a State Duma MP from Russia’s Communist Party. This came amid reports that the Volgoneft-class tankers have been illegally delivering fuel to vessels in Russia’s shadow fleet. The ministry's response o also details the insurance coverage for the sunken tankers, with a total liability limit of $29.85 million for environmental pollution and $6.7 million for wreck removal. Previously, experts cited by Forbes estimated the damage from the oil spill at 33.4 billion rubles (approximately $335 million), a figure that encompasses solely marine pollution. The Ministry of Transport also stated that Russian law does not define an “expired operational period” for vessels — approval for operation is granted based on inspection by the Russian Classification Society. According to a recent report by the independent investigative outlet Important Stories, at least 11 Volgoneft-class tankers were at sea in 2024 and January 2025 — in violation of restrictions indicated on their classification certificates. Kurinny called for a parliamentary investigation into the oil spill and noted that the ministry’s response did not specify the owner of the tankers. According to a report by the Russian state-run news agency TASS, the tankers belonged to Volgatransneft CJSC (ЗАО «Волгатранснефть»). In a statement to TASS, the company attributed responsibility to Port Kavkaz in the Temryuk District of Krasnodar Krai. According to the company, the vessels were positioned in the disaster zone following port directives and were unable to relocate to a safer area due to the storm. Volgatransneft also claimed that the stern of the 'Volgoneft 239' was deliberately grounded by the crew to prevent fuel oil from leaking from the aft section, and to ensure the vessel’s own safety. An investigation by Important Stories found that 80% of the fuel delivered by Volgoneft tankers to Port Kavkaz was transferred to foreign-flagged vessels known to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet, a collection of poorly maintained ships that help Moscow trade oil above the Western-imposed $60 price cap. The trade helps the Kremlin line its coffers with crucial revenue as the Russian invasion of Ukraine nears its 3rd year. 1.4 tons of fuel oil have been recovered from the seafloor, and over 173 tons of oil-contaminated sand and soil have been collected from the shore, according to a report by emergency response officials in Krasnodar Krai on Jan 25. Governor Veniamin Kondratyev claimed that 1/3 of the contaminated sand will be disposed of, while the rest will be cleaned and repurposed for construction. Russian authorities spent $5 million to dispose of sand contaminated with fuel oil. However, there have been documented cases of officials attempting to bury bags of polluted sand instead of recycling it. On Jan. 24, Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev reported that specialists from the Ministry of Transport had completed the removal of fuel oil from the beached stern section of the 'Volgoneft 239' near Cape Panagia in Russia's Krasnodar Krai. However, the bow section of tanker, as well as the bow and stern sections of the 'Volgoneft 212', remained at the bottom of the Black Sea. Oil-contaminated beaches in the city of Anapa, will be restored by the summer of 2026, the Russian Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov claimed on Jan 23. On Jan 24 he promised to bring the beaches back to “standard condition” by this summer.Viktor Danilov-Danilyan, the head of research at the Institute of Water Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, described the Dec. 15 spill as “the most serious environmental disaster in Russia since the beginning of the 21st century.” In late December, the independent publication Kavkaz.Realii reported that ship-to-ship oil transfers along the same route continued despite the wreck of the two Volgoneft tankers. Approaching the Kerch Strait, vessels have reportedly switched off their transponders to evade tracking. Report with photo: https://theins.ru/en/news/278334

On Jan 27, 2025, at 7 p.m. WITA the KM 'Melati' suffered a leak in the waters of Lingga in pos. 00°07.964' S 106°00.314' E., approximately 20 nautical miles from Tanjung Jang, en route from Tanjung Pinang to Berau, Kalimantan, after having suffered a crack in the bottom engine board. Despite the crew’s efforts to manage the incoming water, the volume continued to increase. The worsening weather conditions, with persistent rain and high waves, made it impossible for the crew to contain the situation by 10:00 p.m., and it was decided to stop the efforts to repair the ship and use a signal light in an attempt to call for help from passing vessels. On Jan 28 at 08:00 a.m. the 'Bintan Kharisma 6' came to the rescue after SROP Dabo Singkep had attempted to contact vessels through HF/MF 6215 and VHF without receiving any response. The crew was safely taken aboard the 'Bintan Kharisma 6', which was taking shelter around Lingga Island due to continuing bad weather conditions. The SROP Dabo Singkep coordinated with relevant authorities, including Upp Senayang, Upp Dabo Singkep, VTS Batam (Disnav TPI), Pol Air Dabo Singkep, and Basarnas Penuba. Report with photo: https://hubla.dephub.go.id/Indonesianmaritimesafetyinformation/page/news/read/24778/kapal-km-melati-mengalami-kebocoran-di-perairan-lingga-km-melati-experiences-leak-in-lingga-waters

The fuel oil carried by the 'Volgoneft 212' and 'Volgoneft 239' belonged to the state-owned Rosneft, Russia’s Ministry of Transport has confirmed. The information came to light via the ministry’s written response to an inquiry by Alexei Kurinny, a State Duma MP from Russia’s Communist Party. This came amid reports that the Volgoneft-class tankers have been illegally delivering fuel to vessels in Russia’s shadow fleet. The ministry's response o also details the insurance coverage for the sunken tankers, with a total liability limit of $29.85 million for environmental pollution and $6.7 million for wreck removal. Previously, experts cited by Forbes estimated the damage from the oil spill at 33.4 billion rubles (approximately $335 million), a figure that encompasses solely marine pollution. The Ministry of Transport also stated that Russian law does not define an “expired operational period” for vessels — approval for operation is granted based on inspection by the Russian Classification Society. According to a recent report by the independent investigative outlet Important Stories, at least 11 Volgoneft-class tankers were at sea in 2024 and January 2025 — in violation of restrictions indicated on their classification certificates. Kurinny called for a parliamentary investigation into the oil spill and noted that the ministry’s response did not specify the owner of the tankers. According to a report by the Russian state-run news agency TASS, the tankers belonged to Volgatransneft CJSC (ЗАО «Волгатранснефть»). In a statement to TASS, the company attributed responsibility to Port Kavkaz in the Temryuk District of Krasnodar Krai. According to the company, the vessels were positioned in the disaster zone following port directives and were unable to relocate to a safer area due to the storm. Volgatransneft also claimed that the stern of the 'Volgoneft 239' was deliberately grounded by the crew to prevent fuel oil from leaking from the aft section, and to ensure the vessel’s own safety. An investigation by Important Stories found that 80% of the fuel delivered by Volgoneft tankers to Port Kavkaz was transferred to foreign-flagged vessels known to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet, a collection of poorly maintained ships that help Moscow trade oil above the Western-imposed $60 price cap. The trade helps the Kremlin line its coffers with crucial revenue as the Russian invasion of Ukraine nears its 3rd year. 1.4 tons of fuel oil have been recovered from the seafloor, and over 173 tons of oil-contaminated sand and soil have been collected from the shore, according to a report by emergency response officials in Krasnodar Krai on Jan 25. Governor Veniamin Kondratyev claimed that 1/3 of the contaminated sand will be disposed of, while the rest will be cleaned and repurposed for construction. Russian authorities spent $5 million to dispose of sand contaminated with fuel oil. However, there have been documented cases of officials attempting to bury bags of polluted sand instead of recycling it. On Jan. 24, Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev reported that specialists from the Ministry of Transport had completed the removal of fuel oil from the beached stern section of the 'Volgoneft 239' near Cape Panagia in Russia's Krasnodar Krai. However, the bow section of tanker, as well as the bow and stern sections of the 'Volgoneft 212', remained at the bottom of the Black Sea. Oil-contaminated beaches in the city of Anapa, will be restored by the summer of 2026, the Russian Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov claimed on Jan 23. On Jan 24 he promised to bring the beaches back to “standard condition” by this summer.Viktor Danilov-Danilyan, the head of research at the Institute of Water Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, described the Dec. 15 spill as “the most serious environmental disaster in Russia since the beginning of the 21st century.” In late December, the independent publication Kavkaz.Realii reported that ship-to-ship oil transfers along the same route continued despite the wreck of the two Volgoneft tankers. Approaching the Kerch Strait, vessels have reportedly switched off their transponders to evade tracking. Report with photo: https://theins.ru/en/news/278334

he South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) said that the work to remove the 'Ultra Galaxy', which had run aground on July 9, 2024, near the town of Lutzville, was ongoing and all discharged oil has been contained to the immediate area surrounding the vessel. The Shanghai Salvage Co. has been appointed to carry out the wreck removal operation. So far, more than 3 748 tonnes of material had been successfully removed from the seabed and wreckage and transported via tug and barge for safe disposal in Saldanha Bay. Hazardous waste has been managed in accordance with the Waste Management Plan, with steel being processed in Cape Town, while other hazardous materials are handled at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s Vredehoek Hazardous Waste Disposal Site. Pollution response and environmental compliance efforts were being led by SpillTech and include the deployment of a workboat towing absorbent booms around the wreck during the cutting process as well as booming off the engine and aft sections to contain any potential oil spills. Any remaining oil that may have escaped or recharged from the wreckage removal programme was contained to the immediate area around the wreckage and beach and did not drift further south. The Samsa was conducting regular inspections along with the DFFE to ensure compliance with environmental standards. A final joint inspection will be undertaken to confirm that the site has been restored to its natural state before Samsa issues formal cessation approval. The operation is expected to be completed within the next three to four months.