Satellite images have detected a leak of fuel oil from one of the Volgoneft tankers that sank in the Kerch Strait in December 2024, according to a report by the open source intelligence (OSINT) project Sky Eye.
Images taken by Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites earlier this month show thin streaks of pollution that can be identified as oil slicks. The Insider reviewed images taken before July 2026 and found that the stains were not present.
A report by Sky Eye said the leak likely came from the bow section of the wrecked tanker Volgoneft-239, which sank along with the tanker Volgoneft-212 in the Kerch Strait in December 2024, releasing thousands of tons of heavy fuel oil into the Black Sea. Viktor Danilov-Danilyan, head of the Institute of Water Problems at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), called the oil spill “the most serious environmental disaster in Russia since the beginning of the 21st century.”
The cause of the leak is unclear. Sky Eye's analysts suggested it could be linked to rising seawater temperatures, which may have warmed the fuel oil and allowed some of its components to seep into the water. It is also possible that efforts to pump petroleum products out of the tankers resulted in spilloff.
