Russia Seeks to Open Criminal Investigation for Black Sea Spill

After the Aug 7 oil disaster near the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, Russia’s regional division of the investigative committee announced on Aug 12 that Russian detectives were searching for clues about the spill at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). 

The leak occurred when the Minerva Symphony (Greek flagged tanker), was loading on an offshore floating jetty. CPC claims that the accident was caused by a major break on the jetty yet Russia wants to open a criminal investigation.  

The Russian government started their investigation following the allegations that the chemical spill contaminated an area of approximately 80 square kilometers (31 square miles) and was much larger than initially reported.