Oil leaking from the Caroline Bezengi tanker, which is stranded off Oman's southern coast and sanctioned for carrying Russian oil, has spread over an area of 20 square kilometers around Qibliyah Island, part of the protected Hallaniyat Islands. Satellite images show that crude oil has reached the shoreline.
Wim Zwijnenburg, an environmental expert at the Dutch peace organization PAX, told the Associated Press (AP) that recent images show an increase in oil discharge and that the slick is growing. Zwijnenburg stressed that the greatest risk is the tanker breaking apart as strong winds and rough seas during the annual monsoon season continue to batter the hull.
A sanctioned shadow fleet vessel
The Cameroon-flagged, 274-meter-long Caroline Bezengi ran aground off Oman's southern coast in June after the crew reported an explosion on board. According to Reuters, citing maritime security sources, the vessel first encountered trouble near Yemen's port of Mukalla on June 8, and initial assessments indicated a possible explosion. The cause of the explosion has not yet been confirmed.
Ship tracking data reviewed by Reuters showed that the tanker loaded crude oil from Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk before its last voyage. The vessel had been sanctioned by the UK, the European Union, Canada, and Switzerland for carrying Russian oil as part of the 'shadow fleet' of aging tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Zwijnenburg estimated that the tanker is carrying more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil, and said that recent satellite images suggest a rupture in at least one section of the hull. Other maritime experts who reviewed the images told Reuters that the vessel appears to be listing, raising concerns that it could eventually break apart.
Regional ecosystem on alert
The spill threatens a protected marine reserve in the Arabian Sea that is home to endangered storm petrels and other rare wildlife. Nina Noelle of Greenpeace Germany told the AP, 'With oil continuing to leak and the tanker stranded in a difficult position, the risk of a much larger oil disaster and even more devastating consequences for the region's coastlines and marine ecosystems is serious.'
The United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) said earlier this week that it is monitoring the situation and that the vessel has not yet broken apart, but that authorities continue to assess safety and environmental risks.
Oman's Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology had instructed the shipowners to remove the vessel and its cargo by July 23. It remains unclear whether this deadline was met or whether the shipowners responded.
