An oil spill in the Black Sea off the coast of Odesa region should disappear, the head of the department for environmental and radiation monitoring at the checkpoints of the State Environmental Protection Inspectorate of the North-Western region of the Black Sea, Oleh Zolotariov, has said.

"Contamination was triggered by the spillage of light oil products… A storm and nature will most likely do their job - part [of the oil spill] will evaporate and part will dissolve in water. The threat to the coast is currently minimal," he said at an extraordinary meeting of the commission on technogenic and ecological security and emergency situations at Odesa Regional State Administration.

As reported, a large oil spill was discovered near the coastline in Ukraine's Odesa region. The area of the oil spill is about 5.3 square kilometers and is continuing to expand. Water pollution was caused by the spillage of oil products from the Nikolai Bauman, a ship that sunk near the Starostambulsky delta of Danube, in Kiliya district of Odesa region.

The prosecutor's office opened a criminal case under Part 1, Article 243 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (pollution of sea) and Part 1, Article 242 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of rules of water preservation).

The Nikolai Bauman ship sailing under the Moldavian flag sunk near the Starostambulsky delta of Danube, in Kiliya district of Odesa region. All members of the crew (11 people, all citizens of Moldova) were rescued.

The ship was sailing from Turkey to Kherson carrying gypsum. Water came over the bow of the ship and started to flood the ship's holds. The captain sent a distress signal and tried to beach the vessel, but failed. The dry cargo ship then sank.

The ship was 40 years old. It belongs to Danube Shipping Ltd.