Volgoneft Tankers Were Banned From Entering the Kerch Strait in December
One of them sailed for two weeks without valid documents. The vessels violated almost all of the operating restrictions
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IStories accessed the documents of the tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 issued by the Russian Classification Society (RKO). This organization checks ships for compliance with national and international requirements and issues certificates declaring them seaworthy.
According to the documents, the tankers could not enter the Kerch Strait in December. Classification certificates issued by the RKO authorize ships to enter the strait no later than November if the wind speed and wave height limits are met.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, cited by RIA Novosti, on the day of the tanker crash the waves up to 3 meters high and wind speed up to 24 m/s were recorded in the strait. At the same time, the wave height limit for Volgoneft-212 in the Kerch Strait could not exceed 2 meters, for Volgoneft-239 — 1.5 meters.
The limitation on permissible wind speed was set at 24 m/s and 19 m/s respectively. Thus, the tankers entered the Kerch Strait, violating almost all restrictions.
In addition, the classification certificate of the Volgoneft-239 tanker expired two weeks before the wreck — on November 30. According to the law, vessels without this certificate are not allowed to operate.
In Soviet times, tankers of the Volgoneft type were used only for river navigation, Yuri Kurnakov, chairman of the Maritime Trade Union, told TASS. “The hulls of such vessels simply fracture under serious sea waves,” he said.
On December 15, the tanker Volgoneft-212 broke into two parts and sank in the Kerch Strait, with one sailor deceased. A few hours later, the Volgoneft-239 ran aground 80 meters from the shore near Taman, all crew members were evacuated.