By Olha Chepil | 2025-08-19

A fleet of rusting Russian tankers in the Mediterranean is a ticking oil spill, threatening to foul the coasts of Spain and North Africa.

The Mediterranean has long been under strain. Heavy maritime traffic, wastewater, plastic pollution and oil discharge have already damaged fragile ecosystems, according to environmental researchers. Now experts fear the aging Russian vessels still operating in the region pose a new danger.

Built in the Soviet era, the tankers are well past their intended lifespans, fall short of modern safety standards and receive only minimal maintenance.

"If the old Russian tankers start to malfunction that will reverberate throughout the region's entire environment. The consequences could be horrendous," Andriy Ryzhenko, a retired Ukrainian navy captain and strategic expert at Sonata, a consulting firm, told Kontur.

Floating threat

The Vyazma tanker, built in 1982, entered the Mediterranean in late 2024 to supply Russia's task force and the so-called Syrian Express, a convoy chain moving cargo and weapons between Russia and Syria.

"At the time, Russia didn't have enough serviceable large assault ships, so it began using civilian vessels -- and eventually even bought decommissioned vegetable carriers from other countries to haul cargo," Alexander Kovalenko, a military expert and analyst for InfoResist, told Kontur.

After Moscow lost access to its base in Tartus and faced restrictions at ports in Libya and Algeria, the Vyazma became one of the last fuel sources for Russian navy ships in the region.

Experts say its survival in the Mediterranean shows how critical the vessel remains, despite its age and the environmental risks it poses.

"The 'Vyazma' is a 43-year-old ship. It should be decommissioned. It's obsolete, it's outlived its usefulness, and it hasn't undergone any major renovations in a long time," Kovalenko explained.

Since late May, the Vyazma has been stuck near the Alboran Sea, barely maneuvering and at times listing at anchor, a sign of ballast problems and a possible fuel leak.

"If a tanker sinks, even with empty tanks, it's always a disaster," Pavlo Lakiychuk, head of security programs at the Centre for Global Studies Strategy XXI, told Kontur.

The ship's design makes matters worse. Kaliningradneft-class tankers store fuel in the bow, increasing the risk of leaks. This could explain the loss of maneuverability, compounded by decades of metal fatigue that weaken the hull and fuel tanks, according to Kovalenko. The crew has also been at sea for more than 200 days, raising concerns about food shortages and worn-out equipment.

The lack of port repairs accelerates the breakdown of machinery, Kovalenko added, noting that tankers of this age "should be serviced and repaired in ports."

Experts warn that even a partial spill would devastate marine life and threaten the tourism industries of Morocco, Algeria and Spain, where currents would carry the fuel.

Soviet legacy

The Vyazma is only part of the problem. Two other Russian tankers in the region -- the Kola, built in 1967, and the Yelnya, built in 1968 -- are even older and in worse condition.

"The 'Yelnya' tanker ... was often on combat duty in the Mediterranean. Before the end of 2024 it had completed 40 replenishments, transferring around 2,000 tons of fuel. That's a huge volume of cargo," Ryzhenko recalled.

Like other Soviet-era ships, these vessels were built under weaker standards. Wastewater, oil films and residues that should be stored for disposal are often dumped directly into the sea, Lakiychuk explained.

The Yelnya left the Alboran Sea in February after seven weeks for repairs, while the Kola still awaits docking.

"This means engines and generators run non-stop, adding burden and accelerating hull wear," Lakiychuk said.

Breakdowns are common across the fleet.

"The Yelnya and Kola are in dire state, unsurprising given the Black Sea Fleet's 100-year-old Kommuna," Kovalenko added.

Risk for the region

Analysts say Russia no longer has combat ships in the Mediterranean, with much of its fleet under constant repair.

About two months ago, the frigate Admiral Grigorovich departed, leaving no warships in the region and creating what Ryzhenko called a critical Kremlin crisis. Current operations focus mainly on evacuating equipment from Syria and occasional refueling.

"Russia is taking the most valuable weapons models out of Syria: S-400 systems, radar systems, electronic warfare equipment. At the same time it's supplying groups on-site. It's a two-way process," Kovalenko said.

Fleet accidents are also mounting. On August 9, the navy's newest tugboat, the Kapitan Ushakov, sank at a pier in Saint Petersburg.

"It was built at the Zelenodolsk shipyard and moved to the Nevsky shipyard for completion. It sank at the pier. That happens to the Russians," Lakiychuk said.

With no modern ships left, Russia's symbolic presence in the Mediterranean increasingly threatens the environment. If the Vyazma or other aging tankers fail, an oil spill could spread beyond the Mediterranean and reach the Atlantic coast as well.