Fuel oil spill from partially sunken tanker in Ust-Luga should not affect Latvian coast - expert

RIGA - A fuel oil spill from a tanker that has run aground in the Russian port of Ust-Luga is unlikely to affect Latvia's waters and seacoast, Evija Smite, Deputy Director at the State Environmental Service of Latvia, told LETA.

According to Smite, given the prevailing winds and currents in the Baltic Sea, an oil spill in the given area has little chance of affecting Latvian waters and seacoast. The pollution would primarily affect Russian territory, the expert projected.

The Latvian authorities continue to monitor the developing situation, Smite said. According to information available to the State Environmental Service, currently, no shipwreck or oil spill in Ust-Luga has been officially reported to the Coast Guard, as required by international rules in the event of an accident potentially affecting neighboring countries.

The countries bordering the territorial waters of the accident site, Estonia and Finland, will respond if there are any consequences from the accident, the State Environmental Service's official said.

As reported, on February 9, a fuel oil tanker partially sank in the port of Ust-Luga in Russia's Leningrad Region, the news outlet Fontanka reported.

According to the Telegram channel Baza, the tanker Koala was carrying 130,000 tons of fuel oil. The channel's sources claim that there were several explosions in the engine room of the vessel.

Alexander Drozdenko, Governor of the Leningrad Region, stated that a "technogenic incident occurred during the engine startup" in Ust-Luga and that the tanker's engine room was damaged in the blast.

According to the Mash on Moika channel, the vessel ran aground and the entire crew was. According to preliminary data, no fuel oil leak was recorded.