Oil slick drifting towards Irish coast

18.02.2009
A huge oil slick that presumably formed as a result of a leakage during the refueling of Russian warships is now moving towards the Irish coast at a speed of 20 km/h, the BBC reported.

The Irish media reported yesterday that from 12 to 400 tonnes of fuel had spilled into the ocean 400 kilometers off the coast of the Irish county of Kerry. The Irish coast guard service announced that the spill amounts to 1,000 tonnes of fuel and that if a fraction of the fuel does not disintegrate the slick could reach the Irish city of Westford in 20 days.

A tugboat is assessing the magnitude of the incident and ways to launch a cleanup effort. A tanker could be dispatched from the city of Cork to recover the spilled oil.

"The situation does not pose a serious threat," said Army General Nikolai Makarov, the chief of staff of the Russian Armed Forces. Igor Dygalo, and aide to the commander of the Russian Navy, said he believes there is no danger to the environment. Images from Russian satellites show that the size of the slick is smaller than has been reported by Irish sources. The Irish TV channel RTE reported yesterday that the slick had a size of 6.5 by 6.5 kilometers.

According to the Irish Transport Ministry, the spilled fuel could belong to Russian warships. A few days ago, the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov (CV Kuznetsov-1) and the submarine killer Admiral Chabanenko (DDG Udaloy II-1), both of the Northern Fleet, during the crossing of the North Sea en route to their base in Severomorsk needed refueling.

The general staff of the Russian Armed Forces has confirmed information that a Russian aircraft carrier group refueled off the Irish coast, but it added that the refueling went as planned and no leak occurred.

Experts are studying samples taken from the region to determine whether the fuel came from Russian warships.

The Admiral Kuznetsov and Admiral Chabanenko are returning to the main base of the Northern Fleet in Severomorsk after a long mission.

The Admiral Kuznetsov is Russia's only aircraft carrier. It was launched in 1985 and will be in service in the Russian Navy until 2025. The ship can accommodate more than 50 planes and Yak-41M, Su-27K, and Ka-27 helicopters. Its armament includes the Klinok and Kashtan air-defense complexes. It has a water displacement of 60,000 tonnes and a crew of 1,960.

The Admiral Chabanenko is a multipurpose ocean-zone warship armed with artillery, torpedo-mine, as well as missile and air-defense systems. It entered service in 1992. It can carry two Ka-32 helicopters. It has a water displacement of 7,700 tonnes and a crew of 296.

Translation: RusNavy.com