Port of Azov: petroleum products in Don River neutralized; ecologists: damage was large-scale

The officials of the Azov Sea Port argue that the two spots of oil products, detected yesterday in the Don River near the city of Azov (Rostov Region), pose no threat. At the same time, an activist of an environmental organization said that the river pollution was significant, while information about the incident is concealed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the oil spot was detected in the Don River in the evening on April 5. Presumably, it appeared as a result of discharge of used fuel and lubricants from one of the ships sailing along the river. The area of the spot was about 20,000 square meters.

"The first mazut clot was detected by workers of the ship yesterday at about 11 o'clock in the morning between the anchored ship "Kapitan Chudinov" and the quay wall. Its thickness was so great that the coal dropped on the clot by port workers could not drown through. The second spot - a blurred oil film - was registered at about 5 p.m., supposedly, from the wastes of oil or diesel fuel. It covers a vast water area of the Don - about 20-30,000 square meters," Yuri Golubev, co-chair of the South-Russian Ecological Network, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to his story, this pollution of the Don River with mazut and oil wastes is a broad-scale one. "The incident was immediately reported to the employees of the Azov Port Supervision Agency. Currently, they assert that the survey was conducted of the affected area and photos made; however, they refuse to present the inspection act and photos. Besides, the incident was also reported to the administration of Azov and the local Ministry for Emergencies (MfE), but there was no reaction on their part. Also, we notified the top managers of the organization named "Palmali", which receives money and was set up specifically to address the implications of such emergencies. However, they are also inactive," continued Yuri Golubev.

In his opinion, the only entity, which began liquidating the spot on the river was only the Azov Sea Port Supervision Body ("Portnadzor").

The press services of the Regional MfE and Department of Prevention and Elimination of Emergencies stated to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that they had received no information about the oil spill on the River Don near the Azov Port.

The reception of the head of the Limited Liability Company (LLC) "Palmali" told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that such issues are dealt with by the head of the company who was away at the moment.

At the same time, the on duty captain of the Azov Port told the "Caucasian Knot" that there was no critical situation. According to his story, yesterday the spots were neutralized by absorbents; and now there is no threat of further spread of petroleum products.