An oil tanker with 4,000 metric tons of fuel oil on board and three dry freighters containing sulfur went down on Sunday in the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea to the much smaller Sea of Azov. The bodies of three sailors have been found, and at least eight others are still missing, according to the ministry.
"Three teams have started an operation to contain the oil spill caused by the sinking of the Volgoneft-139," Emergency Situations Ministry Spokesman Viktor Beltsov said.
When the oil tanker split in two, about 2,000 metric tons of fuel oil and about 6,800 tons of sulfur spilled into the sea, in one of Russia's worst environmental disasters in recent years.
Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of Russia's environmental regulator, said the sinking of the ships in the Kerch Strait was "a very serious environmental disaster", and it would take more than a month to clear up the resulting environmental pollution.
Thousands of dead birds have since washed up along the shore of Russia's southern Krasnodar Territory near the site of the oil spill, a spokesman for the local administration said on Monday.
"According to the latest information, about 30,000 birds have died and about the same number are covered in oil. In other words, it is very likely they will die too," he said.
The Ukrainian prime minister said the government had allocated $3 million to repair damage caused by the storm.
Viktor Yanukovych said the government would make extra funds available as soon as the total damages had been assessed, adding that the oil slick presented no direct threat to Ukraine as it was currently moving in the opposite direction.
A Russian emergencies official said twelve kilometers of the Kerch Strait shore had been polluted with oil products.
Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov to travel to the Kerch Strait "to deal with the situation and take appropriate measures."
