Activists and environmentalists have criticized the condition of beaches in the Tuapse region.

Many beaches in the Tuapse district, despite the official opening of the resort season, are not ready for safe recreation: a storm washed ashore a large amount of debris and complicated the cleanup of oil products, according to local residents, activists, and environmentalists.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, booms covered in fuel oil washed up on Primorsky Beach in Tuapse, and the beach of the former Vesna boarding house has not been cleared of fuel oil, despite the opening of the resort season announced by authorities, volunteers reported on May 31. They are installing fuel oil nets on the beaches of the Tuapse village of Tyumensky.

The beaches of the Tuapse district are opening for the summer resort season, which officially began on the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory on June 1, despite the challenging environmental situation. Authorities are not providing a realistic picture of the beaches' condition, while residents and environmentalists are telling the "Caucasian Knot" about the situation on the ground, raising doubts about their safety for vacationers.

The external picture on the Tuapse coast has changed significantly in recent days, but this rather complicates the underlying problem of pollution. On the eve of the season, May 31st and June 1st, torrential rains and a severe storm hit the coast. “As a result of the storm, there is no longer any talk of visible oil films in the sea. Moreover, satellite images are currently practically useless for rapid assessment of oil pollution. The fact is that the fuel oil and crude oil were broken up by the waves into tiny droplets and mixed with the water column, forming a stable emulsion,” explained ecologist Igor Shkradyuk, who personally coordinated monitoring of the situation directly in the Tuapse district until June 3rd.

According to the specialist, after heavy rains in May, a coastal strip of the sea hundreds of meters wide has now become turbid—the water contains suspended sand and clay washed down from the mountains by the rivers.

“Droplets of oil products actively adhere to these sand and clay particles, become heavier under their weight, and sink en masse to the bottom, settling in the bottom layers. However, on the shore itself, the waves created huge waves of tree trunks, branches, and household debris washed up by the rivers,” notes Shkradyuk.

According to him, the storm and heavy rain partially “helped” clear the surface of the water, transferring the pollution to a latent, bottom-dwelling phase. The danger is that when the sea calms and the summer warming begins, the settled oil products may rise to the surface again.

According to official statements from the Tuapse District administration, most beaches had been cleared of oil products by the end of May. However, field observations by environmentalists and reports from residents on social media paint a more mixed picture.

Among the problem areas is Tuapse's Central Beach

Tuapse's Central Beach remains the most problematic area, and the administration acknowledges that work is still ongoing. According to Igor Shkradyuk, who left the Tuapse District on June 3, "black stains of unremoved oil" are still clearly visible on Tuapse's Central Beach. "Entering the water here is strictly prohibited, and standing on the sand or pebbles without sturdy footwear is unsafe – there is a high risk of staining your clothes and getting toxic skin irritation," volunteer Alexey told the "Caucasian Knot."

On June 3rd, active work continued at the beach, reported local resident Maksim. “I saw that they were working seriously at Tsentralny Beach; there was a lot of equipment, services, and volunteers,” he said.

In Novomikhaylovskoye, the least environmentally friendly beach cleaning technologies are used, said local fisherman Viktor. “The assigned municipal employees simply carelessly burn everything they see: branches, driftwood, petroleum products. There's soot for a kilometer around. It's good at least they don't throw the combustion products into the sea: I saw them being taken away in sacks. I didn't see any vacationers here,” he told the “Caucasian Knot.”

An elderly man suggested that fishing might now be a problem. Viktor himself earned a small pension supplement by fishing, but now believes he may lose this income.

In Lermontovo, after a strong storm, the beach is littered with trash, and the water is murky, said local resident Valeria. “Our resort village is large, belongs to the Tuapse district and is located 50 km from Tuapse. The beach is full of trash, the water is dirty – just mud diluted in the water – that’s what it looks like. The water is still cold for swimming, there are few tourists, and plenty of guesthouses – but we hope that people will come again, summer is coming. Although this never happened before the SVO: the water was crystal clear, there were always more tourists than the locals could offer rooms and accommodate. There was no room to swing a cat,” she said.

According to the woman, after the storm, oil products "can no longer be found under piles of garbage and wood debris." "The strip is 5-10 meters wide, 0.5-1 meter high, and stretches for over 200 meters along the entire beach. It's very difficult to get to the sea, and the water is also thick in places. Five exhausted-looking people are slowly trying, with the last of their strength, to clear the beach of sediment, so far to no avail. It's clear the administration has no reserves, no free hands, and no volunteers—everyone is tired. We locals are also tired of cleaning up after those who cause all this," she described the situation on the beach.

The flow of vacationers to the resorts of Tuapse has decreased

The owner of the mini-hotel Sergey has noted a decline in tourist flow. “I have a 14-bed hotel, and it's usually completely booked at this time. Now, regulars just call and ask how things are. What can I say? They ask for photos, so I went and snapped some of the piles of trash on our beach. Sent them. So far, there's been no word from guests about bookings or plans to return. Who needs a vacation like this? The airport's closed. There are plenty of people like me in our village; those with swimming pools are in better shape.

Many people are now thinking about selling their guesthouses, because small businesses are unlikely to survive and justify themselves in these conditions if, for example, they rent out only 2-3 rooms per season instead of 14. Lowering prices isn't an option in our situation either; we live seasonally. We need to make repairs and maintain the hotel. Where will we get the money for that when we'll soon have nothing to eat ourselves?” he said.

The resort village of Gizel-Dere, located south of Tuapse, suffered a significant blow, according to local residents. “As far as I know, space and ground-based monitoring is recording dark plumes and clumps of fuel oil carried by the current from the city’s untreated port. The beaches are littered with wood debris mixed with fuel oil fractions. You can’t lie on sun loungers, and walking along the shore is strictly prohibited without shoes you don’t mind throwing away,” said local blogger Oleg.

The village of Olginka is located significantly further north from the epicenter of the accident. The beach areas here are visually clean, sun loungers are available, and entering the water is technically permitted. However, water quality is a concern for sanitary services due to heavy river runoff after rains.

"People have flocked to Olginka," said Alexander, a retiree and owner of a local mini-hotel. His hotel has five rooms, all of which are already occupied. "These are all the old guard. Our regulars have arrived. Other regulars have also promised to come in July and August," he explained.

According to Alexander, he earns a small additional income selling consumer goods by the sea.

“On June 2nd, I was taking out some resort goods that I had specifically purchased for the summer back in the winter, and then the trade department officers showed up with a raid. They filed a ticket against me and my neighbor for “trading in unauthorized places and violating public amenities regulations.” Instead of giving people a chance to earn a little money, they’re stifling us. Tourists’ only joy is going to the local market and buying something for lunch or some resort toy. But no, everything is banned,” the pensioner complained.

Wild beaches covered in trash and fuel oil

The most dangerous areas are the “wild” sections of the coast with rocky headlands, according to local blogger Denis. According to him, after the storm, these areas are littered with mountains of driftwood and household debris, and fuel oil spills are piled high with waste like a "layered cake."

"The shoreline and coastal rocks here were not cleaned at all. Fuel oil is lodged in crevices in the rocks and between large boulders. Going there without protective clothing, let alone swimming, is strictly prohibited, and this is clear even without official announcements," he said.

The blogger himself volunteers at the beach in Tyumensky. In the villages of Tyumensky and Nebug, the situation, in his opinion, is "limitedly stable." "Volunteers are working here, but the risk of secondary pollution remains high due to the migration of oil spills along the coast. Civil society has joined the cleanup efforts to save the beach in Tyumensky," Denis explained.

Funds for nets raised in 24 hours

Since the state emergency services and port authorities are primarily focused on deep mechanical cleaning and the installation of heavy marine booms, volunteers have taken on the protection of resort villages. The "Volunteers, Welcome!" project, which collaborates with the autonomous non-profit organization "Volunteers of the SSL" led by Zhanna Rybak, raised over 100,000 rubles in just one day by June 3 for oil product collection nets in Tuapse, reported Igor Shkradyuk.

"Special 'Kalyaev nets' are planned to be quickly deployed near the village of Tyumensky to intercept fuel oil slicks, Zhanna Rybak told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. Volunteers, she said, are "very few."

"We're helping the guys in Tyumensky collect individual fragments of oil products and film from the sea with nets that are stirred up by the waves. I think the only volunteers left are there, so we're helping them. We haven't yet encountered other volunteers from other beaches," Rybak noted.

Ecologists agree that traditional spill response methods are already ineffective at this stage. "Dispersants and burning of oil products on the sea surface were not used in Anapa and Tuapse." "And it's a good thing they weren't used, as chemicals would have caused even greater damage to the ecosystem," notes Igor Shkradyuk. Now that the coastline has been partially cleaned, the best solution for the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Natural Resources would be to artificially spray specialized biological agents, the specialist believes. "The coastal waters need to be sprayed with a concentrate of oil-feeding microbes. Such microorganisms exist naturally in the Black Sea, but under severe pollution conditions, it would take too long for them to multiply to the required population size." "The use of a biopreparation will significantly accelerate the natural absorption of oil remaining in the water and make swimming truly safe for people," the ecologist noted.

A regional emergency situation is in effect throughout the Tuapse District. Information on emergency assessment criteria, response levels, and structures and resources for eliminating the consequences can be found in the "Caucasian Knot" factsheet "Emergency Situation (ES)". Materials on the consequences of the fuel oil spill have been collected by the "Caucasian Knot" on the page "Eco-disaster in Kuban".