The damaged Russian ships spilled some 3,700 tons of oil into the Kerch Strait, according to state media.

MOSCOW — An estimated 3,700 tons of low-grade fuel oil spilled into the Kerch Strait after two Russian ships were severely damaged by a storm, Russian state media reported Monday.

The two ships, Volgoneft 239 and Volgoneft 212, were carrying approximately 9,200 tons of mazut, a heavy, low-quality oil product. Images of the scene on social media showed black liquid rising among the waves.

Preliminary estimates say 3,700 tons of mazut leaked into the sea, Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti reported, citing an anonymous source. In a statement, the leader of Russia’s nearby Krasnodar region, Governor Veniamin Kondratev, said the oil had not yet reached shore.

An emergency rescue operation was launched on Sunday after the oil tanker Volgoneft-212 ran aground and its bow was torn off in stormy conditions, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said. One sailor from the 13-man crew died, authorities said.

A second tanker, the Volgoneft-239, was also damaged and adrift with 14 crew members on board. It later ran aground 80 meters from the coast, near the port of Taman, in the Russian region of Krasnodar, from where the sailors were later rescued.

Russian officials confirmed the oil spill on Sunday but said experts were still working to assess its full impact and scope.

The Kerch Strait separates the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula from Russia and is a major global shipping route, providing passage from the Sea of ​​Azov to the Black Sea.

It has also been a key point of conflict between Russia and Ukraine after Moscow annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014. In 2016, Ukraine seized Moscow to the Permanent Court of Arbitrationwhere he accused Russia of trying to gain control of the area illegally. In 2021, Russia closed the strait for several months.