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Russian investigators searched Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) after oil spill

Russian investigators were conducting searches at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) after the oil spil on Aug 7, near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, the regional branch of the investigative committee said on Aug 12. The spill occurred during the loading of the 'Minerva Symphony' which was moored to an offshore floating jetty. According to CPC, a crucial part of the jetty broke and caused the incident. In connection with the criminal case, representatives of the Investigative Committee are interviewing CPC employees and examining documents. The consortium provides the necessary assistance to the investigation team, the CPC stated on Aug 12. Russia opened the investigation after scientists said the spill spread over an area of nearly 80 square kilometres and was much larger than initially estimated by CPC. Moscow has been pressuring Russian companies to take more responsibility for accidents that may pose an environmental threat.

Oil spill during cargo operations

During the loading of the 'Minerva Symphony' through a remote mooring device from the terminal of the Novorossiysk CPC (Caspian Pipeline Consortium) on Aug 8, 2021, oil products were released into the sea, six kilometres from the Novorossiysk coast. The place of the oil product spill has been localized. The Novorossiysk Transport Prosecutor's Office, on behalf of the Southern Transport Prosecutor's Office, was checking the fulfilment of the requirements of environmental legislation and the legislation on the safety of the operation of water transport. Russian prosecutors on Aug 11, opened a criminal probe into an oil spill off the country?s Black Sea coast that appeared to be far bigger than initially expected and left traces of pollution along the scenic coastline. The spill occurred over the weekend at the oil terminal in Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka near the port of Novorossiysk that belongs to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which pumps crude from Kazakhstan. The oil spilt while being pumped into tanker Minerva Symphony Russian authorities initially estimated that the spill covered only about 200 square metres, but Russian scientists said on Aug 11, after studying satellite images that it covered nearly 80 square kilometres. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Russia has estimated that about 100 metric tonnes of oil have spilt into the sea. The Prosecutor General's office has opened a criminal probe on charges of environmental pollution and said it would seek damages. Russia's state consumer safety agency, Roskomnadzor said in a statement that an analysis of water samples along the Black Sea coast has found that it remained within norms. The agency chief, Svetlana Radionova, said that a safety system appeared to quickly cut off the spill but would not say how much oil leaked into the sea. Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko met with the director of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium that operates a 1,511-kilometre pipeline stretching from Kazakhstan to Russia's Black Sea coast to request information about the spill. t 17 response vessels were deployed to the terminal, including skimmers and oil storage tanks.