In December 2024, the media reported on the disaster involving 2 Russian tankers close the Kerch Strait. The tankers designated Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239, carrying fuel oil for the Russian Navy, suffered damage. According to authoritative information, more than 2,000 tons of fuel oil spilled into the waters of the Black Sea. This disaster importantly disrupted the marine and coastal ecosystems. However, this incidental is not just an ecological catastrophe, it besides has serious geopolitical and safety dimensions.
First of all, the tragedy highlights challenges related to Russian compliance with global standards and norms. Both tankers were manufactured more than 50 years ago. Although they allowed for dual usage on inland waterways and on the open sea, they were designed for the second option only in case of favourable weather conditions. However, these were far from perfect at the time of the incidental in mid-December. Given the age of the vessels and the possible unauthorized modernization of at least 1 of them, they posed serious risks.
Secondly, the oil spill is simply a manifestation of the consequences of the war in Ukraine. The militarization of the Black Sea has transformed it from a common space into a contested battlefield. The safety circumstances in the region are highly tense, and the situation is besides complicated by environmental disasters. The demolition of the Kakhovka Dam and the fires on oil platforms in the Black Sea are simply consequences of the armed conflict in the region.
All these events besides show a worrisome absence of environmental work in a time of war. The unwillingness to prevent disasters or at least mitigate them effectively turns ecological crises into a strategical tool. Moreover, Russia’s half-hearted approach to eliminating the consequences of this disaster importantly undermines the prospects for broad global cooperation.
The Black Sea as a disputed space
The Black Sea lies on an crucial geopolitical boundary. It borders NATO associate states – Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey – EU candidate countries – Ukraine and Georgia – and Russia, including territories under its control. The individual countries of the region have diverse interests that can be a crucial obstacle to meaningful cooperation. But the fact that the spilled fuel oil reached Georgian beaches suggests that nature and disasters are indifferent to these human categories.
However, the incidental and its consequences point to a crucial problem in the Black Sea region: the deficiency of effective governance. The Montreux Convention, signed almost 100 years ago, regulates access to the Black Sea, but it says nothing about safety or environmental standards. The region thus suffers as a typical example of the “tragedy of the commons”.
Furthermore, the Volgoneft tankers disaster only confirms this view. Russia is utilizing outdated tankers from its “shadow fleet” to circumvent sanctions aimed at limiting the Kremlin’s ability to finance the war in Ukraine. However, an unintended consequence of this is that it indirectly enables behaviour that poses crucial risks. And the inability to enforce global laws and norms creates a space for increasingly unsustainable actions.
However, the issue of the fuel oil spill can besides be conceptualized beyond the broader context of environmental risks. It is legitimate to consider it as a hybrid tool employed by the Russian Federation. The deployment of aging tankers poses a crucial risk, which has a possible to destabilize neighbouring countries without direct conflict. specified activity allows Russia to task its power in the region by exploiting environmental crises and undermining wider regional stability.
Possibilities for cooperation?
The outlook that says that the problem is simply a challenge, and that the challenge presents an opportunity, is mostly very productive. specified an approach would besides be suitable for NATO and its partners. As regional actors, they share not only the waters of the Black Sea but besides its benefits and risks. Addressing this disaster requires collaboration – from clean-up and monitoring to rules enforcement. NATO and the European Union should seize this opportunity, providing leadership alongside method and financial resources.
There are indeed obstacles to possible cooperation. Unorthodox approaches to the application of global rules and standards undermine enthusiasm and trust between states. Individual countries besides have different economical and organization capacities, which can complicate joint action. However, neglecting their collective work can further fuel the problems that make the Black Sea prone to crises.
Individual governments must be aware of the possible harm of the situation. The leakage of oil products is simply a serious threat to local economies, especially fisheries and tourism. Failure to address this and another crises could lead to serious economical problems and political tensions. Countries with weaker governance systems should be peculiarly mindful of these possible consequences.
Suggestions for development
The oil spill in the Black Sea is not just an environmental disaster. The incidental reflects the strategical implications of environmental laxness in geopolitical contexts. Russia’s usage of outdated vessels may not simply reflect negligence but could represent a calculated hazard aimed at investigating NATO and the EU’s capacity to respond to non-military threats. Therefore, it is crucial to first resolve the acute crisis. Secondly, it is essential to address the causes leading to this incident.
This crisis is an chance for regional cooperation that goes beyond the immediate clean-up of the local environment. It is crucial to make modern governance mechanisms in the Black Sea region capable of addressing current safety challenges. The focus should not be solely on enforcing existing global standards, but besides on addressing the issue of environmental threats as a possible tool of hybrid warfare. This incidental shows that specified disasters can have consequences comparable to conventional military threats.
At the same time, today’s reaction of partners in the Black Sea region will besides affect future solutions to environmental and safety crises. Integrated and strategical efforts are required without delay. Otherwise, the Black Sea does not only hazard becoming a region of ecological disasters, but besides a region prone to unrestrained activities that undermine regional stability. States in the region are not choosing between cooperation and independency today. They are choosing between deterring akin behaviour or accepting it as common practice.
Maroš Cuník is simply a Slovakia-based hazard analyst and South Caucasus associate of GeopoLytics. He specializes in defence, security, politics and societal issues in east Europe and the South Caucasus. Maroš holds advanced degrees in Comparative Politics and Russian, Central and east European Studies. He has professional experience as an analyst for the Slovak Ministry of Defence and as a NATO Advisor in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he supported defence capacity building.
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