In January 2025, the news was widely dispersed on the network that experts of the Russian Academy of Sciences considered a vacation on the Black Sea coast dangerous to health for the coming decades. We checked the authenticity of these publications.
On January 18, in Runet, the statement allegedly made by the Scientific Director of the Institute of Water Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences began to actively spread. According to him, due to the recent fuel oil spill, safe bathing in the Black Sea is impossible for the next 15–20 years, until the ecosystem of the reservoir will completely recover. The resources that published notes on the ban on swimming also clarify: supposedly experts of the Russian Academy of Sciences called not to believe tour operators who “would lure tourists to resorts”, since bathing in the Black Sea can lead to chemical burns and allergies.
The news was published by Telegram channels "Live broadcast • News"(867,000 views at the time of writing this analysis),"Dual"(448 000),"Pozdnyakov 3.0"(424,000),"Moscow Live"(423 000),"Bad news 18+"(252 000),"Moscow today"(218 000) and others. This information also appeared in the media Kaluga News, Riamo, 56 orb.ru, "Regional Ryazan newspaper","Kaluga BIZ format" And "Championship".
In mid-December 2024 in the Kerch Strait due to a strong storm Braced The collapse of two Russian tankers: “Volgonft-212” and “Volgonft-239”. The vessels transported about 9,200 tons of fuel oil, some of which resulted in the waters of the Black Sea. Initially in the Ministry of Natural Resources countedthat 4000 tons of oil products fell into the water, but subsequently the Ministry of Transport He called it The figure of 2400. The fuel oil spread quickly, polluting the areas of the coast of the Krasnodar Territory and Crimea. From the victims of the crashes of Russian tankers toxic substances Taken and on the coast of Odessa, and birds smeared in oil products, Found And in Georgia.
Sources that have spread information about the ban on swimming in the Black Sea in the coming years refer to the words of a certain expert from the Russian Academy of Sciences. There is no name in publications, but some indicate the position - Scientific Director of the Institute of Water Problems. This post at the Academy occupies Doctor of Economics, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Viktor Ivanovich Danilov-Danilian. In January 2025, Danilov-Danilian gave an interview about the spill of fuel oil in the Black Sea "Kommersant" And RBC. The term of 15–20 years, which is indicated by the resources that have spread information, sounds already in the first response to the question of the journalist of RBC. The expert explains that during this period the sea can be cleansed independently, if you do not make additional efforts, and this will occur due to bacteria that absorb fuel oil. Danilov-Danilian separately emphasizes that such deadlines do not suit anyone, so additional efforts are needed to solve the problem. However, the scientist does not declare that in all these years swimming in the sea will be unsafe for human health.
In addition to the ban on swimming in the Black Sea, resources - also with reference to the expert of the Russian Academy of Sciences - disseminate the information that bathing in contaminated water can lead to chemical burns and an allergic reaction. Part of the interview of RBC is really devoted to the future tourist season on the Black Sea coast. The journalist asks questions how safe it is to swim, sunbathe on the beach and what forecasts can give an expert. However, in this case, Danilov-Danilian states that any predictions are premature. In his opinion, the state of beaches at the end of May can be judged only in the future, but now it is obvious that restoration work will affect all aspects of the beach holiday. Pollution spreads unevenly: in some sections of the coast, the situation is worse, while in other places, just a few hundred meters, its traces may be minimal.
As for the safety of swimming, Danilov-Danilian explains that the fuel oil, which is in the water, does not dissolve, but forms clots. Contact with them is really undesirable: the fuel oil remains on the skin and, if it is not removed in time, can cause burns or allergic reactions. However, due to the uneven pollution, it cannot be argued that any bathing in the Black Sea will lead to such consequences. None of the interviews that Danilov-Danilian gave since the spill of the fuel oil, it is not said that the Russians will have to completely abandon the rest on the coast for the next decades or even for a year. The same opinion adheres to And Sergey Ivanov, special representative of the President of the Russian Federation on environmental protection, ecology and transport: “Not a single responsible person to date to say when the accident is completely eliminated is able to completely liquidate.” Ivanov’s answer concerned the tourist season this year, he also did not declare any ban for decades.
Every year, Rospotrebnadzor checks the beaches for compliance with sanitary and epidemiological standards. This year a preliminary assessment They promised to spend Until March 1. So far, the department did not announce the closure of the beaches, as well as not provided recommendations on permissible pollution standards in bathing sites. Head of the Ministry of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov reportedthat the authorities plan to start work to restore beaches only at the end of this year, and to complete-by the beginning of the season 2026. He explained such deadlines with the reluctance to interfere with vacationers. The next day he Addedthat the authorities should lead the beaches to the normative state by the beginning of this summer season.
Masut spill in December 2024 Danilov-Danilian He called it The largest environmental disaster in Russia since the beginning of the 21st century. Despite its scale, this is not the first such case in the Kerch Strait. November 11, 2007 a strong storm brought to the collapse of several ships, including the Volgonft-139 tanker, which has split, Pouring More than 1200 tons of fuel oil in the sea. After that accident, several studies of the influence of the environment on the environment were conducted. Analysis of the UN program, published a year after the storm, showed: “Oil will remain a source of pollution in the future, if it is not removed,” however, as indicated in the text, there were no noticeable biological consequences. Then access to the Black Sea was not limited. Despite the fact that the accident of 2024 is almost double larger than the previous one, there is no reason to say that in this case the danger of bathing in the sea will increase so much that it will lead to the complete closure of the beaches. In addition, the Black Sea washes the shores of the six states: Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. To date, not a single official body of these countries has also announced the closure of Black Sea resorts for the coming years.
This is not the first panic of the danger of the Black Sea for people since the accident. On December 18, three days after the spill, in Telegram channels and social networks, publications were dispersed that supposedly Anapa coast would be closed from tourists for ten years. Then posts about this published Telegram channels "Drilling rat"(255,000 views),"Rhymes and Panchi"(187 000),"Yuri will be Dud"(39,000) and others. Some publications Millions of views have gained about the closure of the Black Sea for ten years in Tiktok. However, at the end of December 2024, and today this information has not been officially confirmed.
Thus, not a single expert of the Russian Academy of Sciences called on the Russians to completely abandon relaxing on the Black Sea in the next 15-20 years. Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Viktor Danilov-Danilian said that during this period the reservoir is completely self-cleaned if the person’s intervention in this process is excluded. The spill of fuel oil occurred a month ago, and so far not a single official source has made statements about the danger of relaxing on the Black Sea coast in the near future.
Photo on the cover: Wikimedia Commons
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