Grounded Sanctioned Tanker Off Oman Leaves 400-Square-Kilometre Oil Slick
Key Takeaways
- •The sanctioned tanker Caroline Bezengi grounded near Oman's Al Hallaniyat Islands, an ecologically sensitive archipelago known for its coral reefs and humpback whale populations.
- •Omani authorities estimate the oil slick covers approximately 390 square kilometres, while Greenpeace satellite imagery analysis indicates it may span up to 600 square kilometres.
- •The United Kingdom placed the vessel on its sanctions list because of its connection to Russia's shadow fleet, a network of aging vessels used to bypass Western sanctions and the G7 price cap.
- •The tanker was transporting Russian crude oil bound for Asian markets and initially reported damage on June 8 near Yemen.
An oil slick from a grounded sanctioned tanker off Oman has spread across about 400 square kilometres, according to reports.
The vessel, Caroline Bezengi, grounded near the Al Hallaniyat Islands in Dhofar Governorate, Oman's Environment Authority said in a statement on Friday. The islands are a remote archipelago known for their marine biodiversity, including coral reefs and populations of humpback whales, making the spill's location particularly sensitive from an ecological standpoint.
The UK government has placed the tanker on its sanctions list over links to Russia's shadow fleet — a loose network of aging, often uninsured vessels used to transport Russian crude in ways that circumvent Western sanctions and the G7 price cap mechanism.
According to the Oman News Agency, the oil slick covers about 390 square kilometres, or 150 square miles. Environmental group Greenpeace said on August 5 that satellite imagery analysis showed the slick had spread to about 600 square kilometres, highlighting the common gap between official government assessments and independent environmental monitoring during the early phases of major spills.
The vessel was carrying Russian oil bound for Asia and first reported damage on June 8 off Yemen, Reuters reported yesterday. The incident underscores the environmental risks associated with the growing volume of Russian oil being moved through older sanctioned vessels along routes stretching from the Gulf to Asian markets.