Kuban authorities explained their refusal to involve volunteers in cleaning up fuel oil from beaches.

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The operational headquarters for the cleanup of the fuel oil spill in Krasnodar Krai reported that the situation had stabilized and there were no new oil spills, and therefore announced that it was no longer calling for volunteers.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," a small number of volunteers continue to work in the Temryuk district of Kuban, removing fuel oil from areas inaccessible to equipment. Authorities have stopped volunteer activity on official beaches and report that the cleanup of the fuel oil spill is complete. The Dolphins headquarters announced that effective October 1st, it will be without government support, and active fuel oil cleanup efforts in the Temryuk district will therefore cease.

On September 30th, Alexander Kirpa, head of the Dolphins headquarters, asked in the Krasnodar Krai Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergencies chat about the refusal to support volunteers effective October 1st. "In the Temryuk district, a colossal amount of fuel oil remains under the sand, and fuel oil periodically spills out of the sea from leaking tankers. The same situation is on the Bugayskaya Spit. Is the surface cleanliness of the shoreline really the indicator of cleanliness and cleanup? Does no one care that deposits extend a meter deep under the sand? Will rescuers be deployed in these areas and for these types of work?" "Kirpa inquired.

Here he received an explanation: the regional emergency response headquarters had decided "due to the stabilization of the situation and the absence of new oil spills, a reorganization of the force group will be carried out starting October 1st."

The cleanup of 150 beach areas located within the emergency response zone in Anapa and the Temryuk district will be "carried out exclusively by the forces and resources of municipalities and the Krasnodar Krai Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergencies." Consequently, the involvement of volunteer organizations and movements, "including the Dolphins volunteer headquarters," in the work has been discontinued.

However, the agency also noted that if the operational situation changes and the Federal Operational Headquarters makes a corresponding decision, "interaction with volunteer organizations on a contractual basis may be resumed."

The "Caucasian Knot" reported that volunteer data repeatedly contradicted official reports, according to which there were no fuel oil emissions on the coast. For example, near the village of Volna, volunteers from the Dolphins headquarters recorded a fuel oil slick, and then washed ashore. They asked for local residents' help in cleaning up new fuel oil slicks. However, the operational headquarters did not record any new fuel oil emissions on the Anapa coast, although volunteers during this period stated that emissions Continues.

As a reminder, on December 15, 2024, two tankers carrying fuel oil sank in the Kerch Strait. A crew member of one of the tankers died as a result. Furthermore, an oil spill occurred, leading to catastrophic environmental consequences, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Fuel Oil Spill in the Kerch Strait".

As a result of the environmental disaster, Rospotrebnadzor (the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing) has declared 141 beaches in Anapa and nine beaches in the Temryuk district unfit for recreation. Fuel oil was detected on all beaches in Anapa, on the coast in the Temryuk district, and on the coast of the Sea of Azov in the Slavyansk district of Kuban, according to the Caucasian Knot report "The Scale of Fuel Oil Pollution in Southern Russia".