ROSTOV-ON-DON, December 20 (RIA Novosti) - The bow of a tanker that broke up and sank in the Kerch Strait on November 11 will be raised no earlier than next spring, Russia's emergencies ministry said Thursday.

A storm in the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, sank four ships and split an oil tanker in two. At least six sailors died and around 2,000 metric tons of fuel oil spilled into the sea.

"We have completed our task. We have removed the oil and pumped out the oil products from the tanker's bow. The next stage is the responsibility of the Transportation Ministry," said Alexander Kolupayev, head of the ministry's southern department.

Kolupayev said that in the opinion of the Transportation Ministry, the tanker's bow posed no threat to ships, and it was logical to carry out the next phase in the spring after the storm season comes to an end.

Sergei Ivanov, a first deputy prime minister of Russia, said on December 17 that all traces of November's environmental disaster in the Sea of Azov had been cleared up.

Russian's environmental watchdog Rosprirodnadzor earlier said the damage caused by the November 11 storm in the Kerch Strait was estimated at $265 million.