The Volgoneft-239 tanker is being prepared for disposal after its wreck in the Kerch Strait, head of the Russian Federal Agency of Maritime and River Transport, Rosmorrechflot, Andrey Tarasenko said.
"We are preparing to dispose of the Volgoneft-239. The vessel is vented, degassed, flushed and steamed to provide for environmental safety. Divers of the Marine Rescue Service are surveying in parallel sunken fragments of Volgoneft-239 and Volgoneft-212 tankers at a depth down to 20 meters," Tarasenko said.
Twenty divers are working at present to measure the residual metal thickness in order to evaluate hull strength and its load-bearing capacity. These data will be used to determine further action of vessel refloating.
