Kolva River Oil Spill in Russia

There has not been a word to the communities about how they will clean up the spill, not a word to their investors that the spill is even happening, and almost zero coverage by local and national media. And now the oil has reached the Pechora River, which flows into the Arctic Ocean.

Unique identifier: GP04P6N

Type: Image

Shoot date: 02/06/2013

Locations: Eastern Europe, Kolva River, Komi Republic, Russia

Credit line: © Ivan Ivanov / Greenpeace

Ranking: ★★★★ (E)

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Kolva River Oil Spill in Russia

Indigenous community members clean up an oil spill in the Kolva River, Komi Republic, Northern Russia. The Indigenous communities told Greenpeace that the oil has spread over 170km of the Pechora and Kolva rivers. The amount of oil in the river is unknown, but locals estimate it's at least 100 tonnes. This appears to be another significant spill for the Indigenous communities in an area that has been blighted with the impacts of a reckless and negligent oil industry for many years. Joint ventures between Russian oil companies and foreign interests are becoming increasingly common, as are the spills. Both Rusvietpetro and the government have failed to cope with even this relatively small spill, despite the infrastructure available to them and the fact that the accident is easily accessible. Greenpeace fears a bigger accident, or an accident on the Arctic shelf hundreds of miles away from civilization.

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