Russia has opened a criminal investigation on the spill, which occurred during loading of the Greek-flagged tanker Minerva Symphony near the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, on 7 August.
Russian investigators were conducting searches at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) after the incident, Reuters reported citing the regional branch of the investigative committee. Reports say the incident occurred as the ship was moored to an offshore floating jetty. According to CPC, a crucial part of the jetty broke and caused the accident.
In connection with the criminal case, representatives of the Investigative Committee are interviewing CPC employees and examining documents. The consortium provides the necessary assistance to the investigation team,
…CPC was quoted as saying by Reuters last Thursday.
Russia opened the investigation after scientists said the spill spread over an area of nearly 80 square kilometers and was much larger than initially estimated by CPC.
The CPC pipeline transports the flagship Kazakh crude oil export blend to a terminal near Novorossiisk. The terminal is operating as usual, CPC has said.
