Transeuro Energy Corp.: Drilling Update in Ukraine and Armenia Jan 8, 2008
Also in Ukraine, the Company has commenced construction of the rigsite to drill the Povorotnoye 104 well ("Pov-104") in East Crimea on the Kerch Peninsula. The Company expects to spud the well in the first half of 2008. (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
Heavy snow blasts eastern Europe Jan 4, 2008
The Vanessa was carrying a crew of 10 and a Ukrainian pilot who was guiding the ship as it approached the Kerch Strait, which connects the Azov Sea to the Black Sea, said Sergei Petrov, a spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry for southern Russia. Click for related content. (MSNBC -- International)
Storm brings chaos to Black Sea Jan 4, 2008
At least four sailors have died after their Bulgarian cargo ship sank in a storm lashing the Kerch Strait, just north of the Black Sea. Rescuers from Ukraine and Russia are searching for the other crew from the Vanessa. (BBC News -- Europe)
Four dead as Black Sea ship sinks Jan 4, 2008
The Bulgarian-registered Vanessa was carrying a cargo of just under 3,000 tonnes of steel from the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk when it sank in high winds in the Kerch strait, Tarasova said. The strait divides Ukraine and Russia just north of the Black Sea. (Aljazeera.Net)
* World News Quick Take Nov 23, 2007
Workers continued trying to mop up some of the fuel that soiled kilometers of coastline in the Kerch Strait, the waterway that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov. Russia and Ukraine share the strait. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Wrecked Black Sea Ships Start to Leak Sulphur Nov 21, 2007
Four ships sank in the Kerch Strait on the northern mouth of the Black Sea in one of the worst storms in a century ... They will fly to the Kerch Strait to assess the impact of the storms and offer advice on how to handle the damage, an EU spokesman based in Kiev said ... The worst of the storm affected the Kerch Strait, which separates Russia from Ukraine and links the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. (Planet Ark, United States)
Ukraine mine blast kills 17 Nov 18, 2007
The severe storm which beached the Ukrainian ship also broke a small Russian oil tanker in two off the Ukrainian port of Kerch on Sunday, spilling up to 2,000 tonnes of fuel oil in what a Russian official said was an "environmental disaster". REUTERS/ Gleb Garanich (UKRAINE). (AlertNet)
In picturesSome of the most striking images from this week's stories Nov 17, 2007
A bird covered in oil writhes near emergency workers battling to clean a massive oil spill caused after a storm split a tanker in the Kerch Strait between Ukraine and Russia. A woman makes a dangerous dash across the tracks in a Paris railway station as a strike by French transport workers continued to hobble transport. (BBC News)
Russian Oil Spill Killing Dolphins, Says Watchdog Nov 16, 2007
A storm on Sunday broke up the tanker and sank at least four freighters while crippling other vessels in the narrow Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov ... The Kerch Strait separates the port of Kerch on Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula from Russia ... He said Ukrainian authorities were resisting a Russian proposal to contain the oil spill by building a dam across one of the channels in the Kerch Strait. (Planet Ark, United States)
* Winds hamper Russian oil spill clean-up efforts Nov 15, 2007
Officials called the breakup of the tanker in the Kerch Strait an environmental disaster and warned that the 2,000 tonnes of spilled fuel oil, which has killed 30,000 birds according to some estimates, could cause long-lasting damage to marine life. Leading Russian environmentalists, meanwhile, said the oil spill was triggered by years of official negligence that allowed oil transport ships to use outdated and inadequate equipment. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Environmental disaster as Russian tanker sinks Nov 14, 2007
The Russian ship broke up in a storm and high waves yesterday near the port of Kavkaz in the narrow Kerch strait south of the Sea of Azov, in one of the worst ecological disasters in the region for years. Two freighters carrying sulphur also sank near the Russian port about 750 miles south of Moscow, and several other ships ran aground. (Yahoo News -- Environment & Nature)
Black Sea faces oil 'catastrophe' Nov 14, 2007
Soldiers and emergency workers are battling to clean up an oil spill that has reportedly killed some 30,000 birds in the Kerch Strait, by the Black Sea ... The Russian tanker Volganeft-139, with more than 4,000 tons of fuel aboard, came apart after it was smashed by 108km/h (67 mph) winds and 5m (16ft) waves in the narrow Kerch Strait between Russia and Ukraine. (BBC News -- Europe)
Ukraine, Russia to jointly deal with oil spill Nov 14, 2007
A Russian oil tanker split in half in a fierce storm in the Kerch Strait leading to the Black Sea on Sunday, spilling at least 2,000 tons of fuel oil ... According to reports of the Intefax-Ukraine news agency, the working group will be headquartered in the ports of Kerch, Ukraine, and Kavkaz, Russia ... The working group would be responsible for cleaning up the oil spill after a tanker broke up in a heavy storm in the Kerch Strait. (Xinhuanet, China)
Oil slick devastates ecology of Black Sea Nov 13, 2007
The storm on Sunday sank the tanker and at least four freighters while crippling other vessels in the narrow Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and Azov Sea ... Ukraine's prime minister urged a review of environmental safety in the Kerch Strait, a busy waterway which separates Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and southern Russia ... "In the Bosphorus Straits, it's not possible to use tankers which have no double hulls. How is the Kerch Strait different? It isn't," Mr Yanukovich said. (Scotsman)
High winds halt cleanup of Russian oil spill, officials call it environmental disaster Nov 13, 2007
Sunday's storm battered vessels plying the waters of the narrow Kerch Strait, connecting the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea ... "Russia needs a law that regulates sea pollution, and the Kerch strait should be declared an especially vulnerable sea zone," environmentalist Golubchikov said. (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
Soldiers deployed in Black Sea oil spill clean-up Nov 13, 2007
The Kerch Strait where the spill occurred is a waterway separating the Black Sea from the Sea of Azov and is an important migration route for birds and home to the Black Sea porpoise ... Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was also expected to visit the Russian side of the Kerch Strait on Tuesday as Ukrainian authorities helped rescue efforts. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Black Sea coast faced with disaster Nov 13, 2007
Russian officials have described the spillage of more than 2,000 tonnes of fuel oil into the Kerch Strait from the Russian tanker Volganeft-139 as one of the country's "worst environmental disasters in years" ... The tanker Volganeft-139 was on its way from the port of Azov in the southern Russian region of Rostov to Kerch in Ukraine's eastern Crimea when high waves broke its hull early on Sunday, Russian media reported ... The tanker, designed primarily for rivers and in service since 1978, was... (Aljazeera.Net)
In Black Sea, storm highlights maritime-safety issues Nov 13, 2007
The Volganeft-139, anchored outside the Ukrainian port of Kerch, spilled at least 1,300 tons of fuel oil (364,000 gallons) after high waves broke it in two Sunday morning ... The spill raised questions about maritime safety in the Kerch Strait, a busy waterway that separates Ukraine and Russia ... "In the Borsphorous Straits, it's not possible to use tankers which have no double hulls. How is the Kerch Strait different? It isn't," he said at a news briefing in Kiev. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
Crews missing in Black Sea storm Nov 12, 2007
Up to 2,000 metric tons of fuel oil have leaked from the tanker in the Kerch Strait, which links the two seas ... The Russian oil tanker Volganeft-139 came apart after it was smashed by 108km/h (67 mph) winds and 5m (16ft) waves in the narrow Kerch Strait between Russia and Ukraine. (BBC News -- Europe)
* Inclement weather sinks Russian oil tanker, cargo ships Nov 12, 2007
Five-meter high waves smashed a Russian tanker in half yesterday, spilling 1,300 tonnes of fuel oil into the Kerch Strait between Russia and Ukraine, officials said. Two other cargo ships, each carrying some 2,000 tonnes of sulphur, sank in the area and eight crew members from one of the vessels were reported missing amid worsening weather in waters between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Ecological disaster fears in Black Sea storm Nov 12, 2007
The challenging weather was holding up the urgent task of securing fuel oil from an oil tanker that broke in two Sunday, spilling 1,300 tonnes of fuel oil into the Azov Sea, a small offshoot of the Black Sea connected by the environmentally sensitive Kerch Strait ... In addition to the "Volgoneft-139," three ships carrying sulphur foundered Sunday in the Kerch Strait, which is a major route for birds migrating south at this time of year and also home to the Black Sea porpoise. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Oil tanker breaks up off Crimea Nov 12, 2007
The Volganeft-139, the tanker, was on its way from the port of Azov in the southern Russian region of Rostov to Kerch in Ukraine's eastern Crimea when high waves broke its hull at around 0445 (0145 GMT) on Sunday, Russian media reported ... Crew members adrift Thirteen crew members were drifting aboard the ship's stern and several other ships are reportedly in trouble in the Kerch Strait, a waterway running between the Azov and Black Seas ... Almost at the same time as the Volganeft-139 was... (Aljazeera.Net)
Heavy storm splits tanker, spilling oil off Russia Nov 12, 2007
The tanker was crippled in the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, between Ukraine and Russia. The tanker's crew was later rescued, officials said, but searches were still being conducted for sailors from the dry-cargo ships that sank in the area. (International Herald Tribune)
Black Sea storm sinks oil tanker Nov 12, 2007
Four other cargo ships including three carrying sulphur also sank as winds of up to 108 kilometres an hour battered the Kerch Strait separating the Black Sea from the Sea of Azov. Rescue services plucked 36 crewmembers from stricken vessels but fears were growing for the fate of 23 missing sailors as weather conditions worsened, reports said. (iAfrica.com)
Region may take years to recover from tanker disaster Nov 12, 2007
people look at a ship thrown onto rocks by the fierce weekend storm in the Kerch Strait in this picture from television ... The Russian ship broke up in a storm and high waves on Sunday near the port of Kavkaz in the narrow Kerch Strait south of the Sea of Azov ... people look at a ship thrown onto rocks by the fierce weekend storm in the Kerch Strait in this picture from television. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Russian oil tanker breaks in two Nov 12, 2007
Vessel spills 2,200 tons of fuel oil into the Kerch Strait ... Two freighters carrying sulfur also sank nearby in the Strait of Kerch, a narrow strait linking the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov to the northeast, said Sergei Petrov, a spokesman for the regional branch of Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry. (CNN -- World)
Russian oil tanker spills 1,300 tonnes of fuel into Kerch Strait Nov 11, 2007
MOSCOW (AFP) - A Russian tanker broke in half during a storm on Sunday, spilling 1,300 tonnes of fuel oil into the Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, a transport ministry spokeswoman told AFP. ... The waters of the Kerch Strait are divided between Russia and Ukraine. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Timeline: Ukraine May 28, 2007
2003 October - Border dispute erupts with Moscow after Russia embarks on building causeway across the Kerch Strait between Russian coast and Ukrainian island of Tuzla off Crimean shores ... 2003 December - Presidents Kuchma and Putin meet in Crimea, sign agreement on joint use of Kerch Strait and status of Azov Sea in apparent move to defuse border dispute, although Kremlin denies that Tuzla featured in discussions. (BBC News -- Europe)
