A sanctioned oil tanker carrying sanctioned Russian oil has been leaking oil since early June just offshore Oman, creating an oil slick nearly 400km in size (about 150 square miles). It is also near an oceanic nature reserve. According to Reuters:
“The Caroline Bezengi is loaded with close to one
million barrels of Russian oil bound for Asia and first reported difficulties
on June 8 off Yemen, with two maritime security
sources saying initial assessments indicated a blast had occurred onboard.”
“No party has taken responsibility for attacking the
vessel.”
“Oman, in its first public disclosure on the
environmental impact, said on Monday it was seeking to tackle the oil leak near
the Hallaniyat Islands.”
“Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tarik issued a royal decree
last year creating a nature reserve around the islands, an area that is home to
wildlife including Arabian Sea humpback whales and Socotra cormorants.”
“The Caroline Bezengi loaded at Russia's Black Sea port
of Novorossiysk in April and passed through the Suez Canal at the end of May,
ship-tracking data shows.”
The ship was built in 2001
and is part of Russia’s uninsurable shadow fleet of sanctions evasion tankers.
It was flying a Cameroon flag but was recently delisted by the country. These
shadow vessels often change flags to help in evading sanctions. This particular
tanker is sanctioned by the EU, Ukraine, the UK, Canada, and Switzerland.
As can be seen in the
pictures, the extent of the oil slick is easy to see.
References:
Oman
says grounded tanker oil spill covers 400 square km. Pléiades. Reuters. August
10, 2026. Oman
says grounded tanker oil spill covers 400 square km
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