On 24 February, 10 days after the initial spill, the Russian delegation admitted, with extreme regret, responsibility for the incident. The high-level Russian military delegation told the Irish Coast Guard that the incident may have occurred when bilges were inadvertently pumped out 80 km southeast of Fastnet Rock. The Russian internal investigation stated that "technical malfunction and human error" were the causes of the spill. The Irish and Russian governments still disagreed over the size of the spill with Russian estimates placing it at 20 to 30 tons. The Irish Coast Guard expressed disappointment that notification of the pollution incident had not been made earlier as this would have made spraying more efficient and reduced potential risk. However, Irish Coast Guard director Chris Reynolds said he accepted the delegation's explanation. The total cost of the Irish government's monitoring operation was estimated at €250,000. Bilateral discussions were held with regards a Russian contribution towards these costs.