MOSCOW (AFP) -- A Russian tanker broke in half during a storm on Sunday, spilling 1,300 tons of fuel oil into the Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, a transport ministry spokeswoman told AFP.

Another ship carrying 2,000 tons of sulphur later sank in a nearby port and its nine crew members were stranded on a raft amid high winds, a spokeswoman for the emergency situations ministry said.
The waters of the Kerch Strait are divided between Russia and Ukraine.
The stern and the rear of the oil tanker belonging to Russian oil firm Volganeft tore apart in the storm and ""around 1,300 tons of fuel oil were spilled,"" the transport ministry spokeswoman said.
Russian news agencies earlier reported 2,000 tons of oil were spilled.
Rescue efforts were being hampered by the harsh weather conditions but the lives of the 13 crew members stranded in the rear end of the tanker were not in danger, the spokeswoman said.
The oil tanker was at anchor when it broke up, officials said. Three tugboats, two Russian and one Ukrainian, were trying to attach cables to the stern of the ship to stop it from drifting.
A Ukrainian plane and a Russian helicopter were also preparing to fly to the area as soon as the storm conditions die down, the emergency ministry spokeswoman said.
Russian television reported that the spill from the tanker, which was carrying 4,000 tons of fuel oil, was continuing and that the accident happened in Ukrainian waters.
Russia's maritime transport agency has opened a crisis center to coordinate rescue efforts and prosecutors were investigating possible criminal charges on pollution and security breaches, Russian news agencies reported.
The tanker was carrying fuel oil from the southern Russian city of Samara on the Volga River to a port in Ukraine, the reports quoted a Russian official as saying.