A tanker with fuel oil is sinking in the Leningrad region, explosions were heard on board.

In the Leningrad region of Russia, a fuel oil vessel is in danger of sinking. This was reported by the publication 'Fontanka'.

According to Governor Alexander Drozdenko, the tanker Koala began to sink in the port of Ust-Luga due to a 'technogenic incident'. The engine startup led to damage to the engine room.

Despite the state of the vessel, it has been moored at the dock, so there is no threat of an oil spill. The crew of the tanker has been evacuated to safety, and there are no casualties.

According to the Telegram channel Baza, the tanker Koala flies the flag of Antigua and Barbuda. There were 24 crew members on board, including four Russians, eight citizens of Georgia, and 12 Indonesians.

During the night, the tanker was loaded with about 130,000 tons of fuel oil. After this, the vessel was supposed to go to sea, but due to explosions in the engine room, the crew managed to escape, although part of the tanker is sinking. In the morning, it became known that the vessel ran aground. The information about the explosions was confirmed by 'Rosmorport'.

Additionally, with the accident involving the 'Koala' vessel, another emergency situation occurred at the nearby Russian seaport of Nevelsk, where the Chinese vessel 'Ang Yang-2' carrying fuel and oil also ran aground.

Previous accident in the Black Sea

Recall that as a result of the accidents of the Russian tankers 'Volgoneft-212' and 'Volgoneft-239' in the Kerch Strait on December 15, a significant amount of fuel oil entered the sea due to storm conditions. This polluted the waters of the Black Sea and the coast of Russia, particularly the southern coast of Crimea, the Kerch Strait, and the coast of the city of Anapa.