Two oil tankers hauling crude from Russia made U-turns as they sailed past France and are now at a standstill near the northern port of Cherbourg.

Russian officials say rescue workers have successfully removed almost 1,500 tons of oil stranded onboard a tanker that ran aground in December, sparking a devastating oil spill that has damaged miles of coastline along the Black Sea.

Six Russian oil tankers still under construction by Russia's Zvezda shipyard were included in U.S. sanctions imposed last week, the first time Washington is known to have banned tankers before they even set sail,

A large-scale fuel oil pollution, likely caused by the sinking of Russian tankers in the Kerch Strait, has been discovered on the coast of Odesa Oblast. Source: Ivan Rusiev, a scientist and the head of the research department of the Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park,