The order, signed by Kondratyev, cites the risk of an emergency tied to oil products spilled after Ukrainian uncrewed boats attacked vessels in the Black Sea, the regional operations headquarters said.
The measure will allow authorities to monitor the environmental situation, call in emergency response services and take steps to prevent a possible emergency, the regional administration said. The Azov-Black Sea branch of the Maritime Rescue Service was advised to take measures to keep oil products from reaching the shoreline.
Novorossiysk's chief rescue official, Alexei Oderov, reported that fuel oil had been found across an area of roughly 500 meters. Local residents also noticed the pollution. The head of the Abrau-Dyurso rural district, Olga Kotlyar, called on volunteers to help the administration clean the beach. In Arkhipo-Osipovka and Gelendzhik, birds with chemical burns from oil products have begun to be found.
The Transparent World project said a satellite image taken overnight into October 10 recorded a large oil slick in the Black Sea between Arkhipo-Osipovka and Novorossiysk. Over two days, the project estimated, the pollution "noticeably fragmented" and spread as far as Anapa. Oil traces were also spotted near Novorossiysk Bay and the offshore berths of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.
Transparent World links the pollution to a strike by uncrewed boats on the tanker Aframax Rio, which can hold up to 100,000 tonnes of oil, off the coast of Sochi on October 6. The large fire that followed, blanketing Sochi in black smoke, was extinguished only the next day. Sources cited by Mash claimed the tanker was loaded "to the brim." The outlet Astra wrote that the vessel sails under the flag of Liberia and can carry up to 100,000 tonnes of oil. According to The Insider, the tanker likely belongs to Russia's "shadow fleet." Authorities closed beaches in Sochi and Sirius, but on October 8 lifted the restrictions, saying they had found no oil product pollution in the water. Rospotrebnadzor reported that seawater samples in all districts of Sochi met sanitary standards.
Accounts diverge: according to Krasnodar Krai authorities, the state of high alert is linked to the risk of an oil product spill after the attacks on vessels, while on October 8 restrictions on beaches in Sochi and Sirius were lifted and Rospotrebnadzor said water samples met sanitary standards. But the Transparent World project and satellite data point to a large oil slick between Arkhipo-Osipovka and Novorossiysk that spread as far as Anapa, while local authorities and residents report fuel oil found on the shore and birds with chemical burns.