Examples of environmental harm in Ukraine | return to map
Name: Everi port terminal
Location: Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast
CEOBS database ID: 10566
Context
Mykolaiv’s Everi port terminal could store up to 160,000 tonnes of vegetable oils, and is part of the global Viterra group, which manages agricultural product supply chains. The facility sits within Mykolaiv’s commercial sea port area adjacent to the Buh estuary, where exports are transported towards the Black Sea via the Dnipro-Buh estuary.1
Timeline of key incidents
A major offensive took place around Mykolaiv between February and May 2022, during which time Russian forces occupied much of the left bank of the estuary. Although no longer on the frontline, it has been the target of prolonged artillery and missile attacks, particularly until the liberation of Kherson in November 2022.
22nd June 2022
A significant fire broke out after the Everi terminal was hit with drones. The hotspot was recorded by NASA’s online fire detection platform.
16th October-15th November 2022
Following an attack by three drones on the 16th October, two tanks of sunflower oil began leaking and were set ablaze. The following morning, firefighting materials were overflowing into the adjoining streets and then into storm drains. The damage assessment below captures the initial discharge into the harbour at the Nibulon shipyard and further imagery shows the extension of the spill across the estuary over the following weeks.
Damage assessment
In addition to the physical destruction of the storage containers and fire damage, it is estimated that 6,000 tonnes of sunflower oil entered the Buh estuary.
Environmental harm assessment
The fire posed an acute risk to the population of Mykolaiv from the smoke pollution. In addition, many aqueous film-forming foams that are used in fire fighting contain PFAS chemicals, which are known to have significant ecotoxicity, especially for aquatic species, with respect to bioaccumulation and their overall environmental persistence.2
After the attack, the spill dispersed towards the estuary and was contained using a boom; however, this was removed some time after the 26th October, resulting in a second discharge of pollutants. There was a resultant build-up of polymerised sunflower oil, which presented as a white, hardened substance, in contrast to the initial slick where the oil remained a fluid.3 This was visible in satellite imagery on the 31st October – the next cloud free day – along a 3.5 km stretch of coast; the following day more deaths of marine-life were revealed.
Between the 1st and 12th November, satellite imagery shows a further build-up of pollutants at the Nibulon shipyard followed by their release into the wider estuary on the 15th. This marked the third and final discharge, after which tidal flows pushed the pollution upstream to beaches. The State Environmental Inspectorate assessed the polluted area to be about 750 m2, and reportedly removed approximately 676 m3 of pollutants from the water.
The downstream Dnipro-Buh estuary forms part of the Dniprovsko-Buzkyi Lyman (Dnipro-Buh estuary) protected area, which supports a high diversity of species and is an important corridor for migratory birds. Estuaries are sensitive ecosystems that provide a range of services; they are key locations for biogeochemical cycling but vulnerable to disruption.
Longer-term implications
Since May 2022, Buh estuary water has been pumped into homes for non-drinking use, owing to the local water crisis caused by attacks on water pumping infrastructure in April 2022. Prior to the conflict, Mykolaiv residents tended to use bottled water for drinking but the use of estuary water in its network is expected to result in serious corrosion problems.
Water quality issues within the estuary pre-date the full-scale invasion, for example a localised oil spill occurred in November 2021. However, the continued destruction of Mykolaiv’s urban and port infrastructure is an ongoing pollution threat, from both direct discharges and run-off, likely adding to the negative long-term consequences for the ecologically sensitive Buh estuary.
External resources
Ukraine conflict environmental briefing: The coastal and marine environment | CEOBS and Zoï Environment Network
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- Mykolaiv port shipped 28% of Ukrainian agricultural production prior to February 2022, and was the leading Ukrainian port for vegetable oil exports and the second for grain. The port infrastructure was previously targeted, this includes: Olvia terminals on 2nd March 2022 and Nika-Tera terminal on the 4th June 2022. Bunge grain facility was hit on 21st June 2022. Despite Mykolaiv port’s logistical importance, it was not included in the Black Sea Grain Initiative in 2022, nor in the short-lived extension in 2023.
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals”, are a group of globally prevalent compounds with a potentially huge ecological and environmental health consequences that scientists are only just starting to fully understand – see Kurwadkar et al., (2022) for a review of the current state of our understanding of PFAS. A short review on the ecotoxicity specifically for marine species can be found in Pozo et al., (2022), which also describes a partly analogous event – release of firefighting foams into the Port of Santos (Brazil) following a fire at a petrochemical terminal. Even if supposedly less toxic alternatives were used – short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) – these are now also thought to be equally problematic.
- In the case of the boat wreck MV Kimya, which sank off the coast of Anglesey in Wales in 1991 – a similar polymerisation event took place. Divers opened the valves on the sunken tanks with the assumption that the 1,500 tonnes of sunflower oil would nourish marine bacteria – but instead it caused an environmental disaster.
