OREANDA-NEWS. March 11, 2008. Officers of the Emergency Situation Ministry have collected over eleven tons of soil polluted with petroleum products that was discovered along the Kerch Strait coastline on March 5.

According to the statement, on March 10, the Ministry's personnel gathered one ton of oil products mixed with sand and algae.

To prevent complication of the ecological situation in the Kerch Strait and adjacent territories, First Vice Premier of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov instructed the Emergency Ministry, Transport and Communications Ministry, Environmental Protection Ministry, Finance Ministry, Economy Ministry, Health Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Council of Ministers of Crimea to take measures aimed at localization of the pollution to ensure favorable conditions for the holiday season.

The First Vice Premier also gave the order to boost talks on attracting the Russian Federation, other states and international organizations in liquidation of the emergency aftermath.

In November 2007, several Russian vessels spilled petroleum products due shipwrecks in bad weather conditions.