OREANDA-NEWS  Environmental damage from the collision of two tankers on the Lena River in June of this year is tentatively estimated at more than 800 million rubles, said the East Siberian Transport Prosecutor Denis Avdeev.

"Following the results of the investigation of the criminal case, we will appeal to the court (of general jurisdiction - IF) for compensation from the shipping company (PJSC "Lena United River Shipping Company", LORP - IF), which did not provide control over the management of the vessel. Previously, the amount of damage exceeds 800 million rubles, but it is inaccurate and can be adjusted based on the results of the examination," he said at a press conference at the press center of the Interfax agency in Irkutsk on Friday.

As previously reported, on June 12, the tanker TR-901, which was under repair in the port of the village, and the tanker TR-900 "Yerofey Khabarov", carrying 832 tons of gasoline, collided on the Lena River near the village of Alekseevsk, Kirensky district of the Irkutsk region. As a result of the collision, a tank with gasoline was damaged, some of the fuel fell into the river - according to Avdeev, we are talking about 82 tons of fuel.

Investigators found that the tanker "Yerofey Khabarov", owned by LORP, was operated by an inexperienced assistant captain, and the latter, according to the prosecutor, withdrew from performing his duties.

A criminal case is being investigated on the fact of the accident under Part 1 of Article 247 (violation of the rules for handling environmentally hazardous substances and waste) and Part 1 of Article 263 (violation of the rules for traffic safety and operation of water transport) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Avdeev clarified that the prosecutor's office also conducted an inspection with regard to the LORP as a legal entity. An administrative case has been initiated against one of the officials of the shipping company. This is due to the fact that after the accident, the LORP tanker "arbitrarily decided to leave the scene." However, such actions, as the prosecutor explained, threatened not only the lives of the tanker crew, but also other vessels on the Lena.