Social media users debated the quality of vacations in Anapa.

Fear of the consequences of the fuel oil spill in Anapa is the main reason tourists choose other destinations, according to a blogger. Commenters countered that tourists are hampered by the beaches' lack of preparation for the season and the fact that they are filled with unsuitable sand. The discussion unfolded amid the announcement that the Krasnodar Territory will receive a billion rubles to clean up the aftermath of the tanker disaster.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," the Kuban office of Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing) stated that water samples and samples from the areas where new sand was added match the required levels for petroleum products, unlike at Anapa beaches, where imported sand has not yet been added. The swimming season in Anapa officially opens on June 1 and runs until September 30. Swimming permits will be valid in areas excluded from the danger zone designated following the tanker incident. As of June 3, 4.5 kilometers of sandy beaches were operational, and tourists were urged to leave areas where new sand is being added. Social media users expressed concerns about the safety of the water and sand. Sand sifting from the Medical Beach to the Bimlyuk Sanatorium has been completed, the mayor of Anapa announced on June 4. Authorities promised to open all beaches by June 1, but commentators emphasized that most sandy beaches are closed.

Blogger Max Anapsky pointed out that fear of fuel oil is the main factor reducing Anapa's attractiveness to tourists, a conclusion he reached based on the questions he received.

"Most people think it's all fuel oil. I was hoping for TV coverage, but the TV broadcasts had no significant effect. Apparently, fewer and fewer citizens trust it... Anapa needs the season. There's a budget deficit, and that means, say, road repairs, a playground, and even more expensive projects," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Some users blame the authorities for the fact that the beaches are still not ready by the start of the season.

"The problem is that they've been dragging their feet with the beaches; improvements are already over in the summer, and hotels in Dzhemete will, God willing, mostly have time to equip their beach infrastructure by the end of July," commented Anton T.

"Let the mayor's office open all the beaches, and there will be an explosive increase in bookings. Just get rid of all this stuff from our beaches—the mayor's office, Anapa Resorts, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations," writes T .

Others noted that the addition of new sand has only worsened the condition of the beaches.

"With the current beaches (which don't exist), it's terrible to relax. I'm not a goat, jumping around in the garden beds. And I'm not a master of sports in track and field, having to go down to the sea and back up this embankment, which is over 1 meter high. I'm already tired, and my legs hurt from jumping around here. They've ruined the beach!" - wrote K S.

"We came purely out of curiosity to look at this sand asphalt. Horrible. We'll be hanging out on the rocks," writes EM.

"I wouldn't recommend the newly filled beaches to anyone. If I did recommend them, it would be Blaga (Blagoveshchenskaya) or the end of Anapa's sandy beaches," she added.

Some users believe that Anapa is safe for tourists after the work has been completed.

"Everything has been checked and rechecked a hundred times, cleaned, "It's been cleaned up, they even brought in new sand. In other cities where there were spills, like Tuapse, Novorossiysk, Sevastopol, and nearby cities, such work wasn't carried out," said Larisa.

"Mazut isn't just fuel oil... it's definitely lying on the bottom somewhere, the main thing is to keep it away from the shore and all that, and keep it out of the beaches," added Mstislav.

Authorities have allocated another billion to combat the consequences of the fuel oil spill

The Russian government has allocated over 1 billion rubles to the Krasnodar Territory from the reserve fund to reimburse the costs of eliminating the consequences of the tanker accident near the Kerch Strait in 2024, the corresponding amount The order was published on the portal for the official publication of legal acts, TASS reports.

"Allocate in 2026 <…> budgetary appropriations from the reserve fund of the government of the Russian Federation in the amount of up to 1,060,000 rubles for the provision of another interbudgetary transfer from the federal budget to the budget of Krasnodar Krai in order to reimburse the expenses incurred by the budget of Krasnodar Krai <…> for the performance of work <…> to eliminate the consequences of the emergency caused by the oil spill as a result of the tanker accident in the Kerch Strait on December 15, 2024," the document states.

As the "Caucasian Knot" reported, the Russian government in April allocated Rosmorrechflot has been allocated 712 million rubles from its reserve fund for emergency response measures related to the oil spill following the tanker disaster in the Kerch Strait.

In February 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers allocated 5.8 billion rubles to Rosmorrechflot for work to localize emergency zones at the sites of the tanker sinkings and subsequently prepare for their recovery from the bottom of the Black Sea. By June 2025, 9.9 billion rubles had been allocated from the government reserve fund to recover two tankers carrying fuel oil that sank off the coast of the Krasnodar Territory.

The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that in February 2026, the Krasnodar Krai Ministry of Natural Resources assessed the damage to wildlife following the tanker accident in the Kerch Strait at 34.22 billion rubles.

On December 15, 2024, two tankers carrying fuel oil sank in the Kerch Strait. A crew member of one of the tankers died as a result. In addition, an oil spill occurred, leading to catastrophic environmental consequences, according to the Caucasian Knot report "Fuel Oil Spill in the Kerch Strait".

Materials on the consequences of the fuel oil spill have been collected by the Caucasian Knot on the page "Eco-disaster in Kuban".