MOSCOW, November 11 (RIA Novosti) - A second tanker has been hit by storm in the Kerch Strait in the Sea of Azov in Russia's south, the Novorossiisk transport prosecutor said on Sunday.
"The tanker Volganeft-123 is currently in distress. Its crew has discovered a crack in the tanker's hull but there is no oil leak," Maxim Stepanenko said in a live interview with the Vesti TV channel.
Severe weather conditions have caused a series of incidents in the Sea of Azov in Russia's south in the past 24 hours.
At 04:45 a.m. Moscow time (01:45 a.m. GMT) on Sunday, the tanker Volga-Neft loaded with 4,000 metric tons of fuel oil broke apart during a storm to the south of the port of Kavkaz, with more than 1,000 metric tons of fuel oil spilling into the sea. The 13-member crew was not hurt in the incident.
Also on November 11, a cargo ship carrying 2,000 metric tons of sulfur sank during a storm at the port of Kavkaz. Its crewmembers boarded a rescue raft and safely reached the coast.
Russia and Ukraine have set up headquarters at the level of deputy transport ministers to manage the shipwrecks in the Sea of Azov, the Russian Transport Ministry said.
