Bad weather hampers efforts to contain oil spill from grounded tanker off Oman UPDATED

Difficult weather conditions are hampering efforts to contain an oil leak from the Caroline Bezengi, which ran aground off the coast of Oman, Mohammed Abdullah al-Rawahi, head of the Maritime Affairs Department at Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, said.

Al-Rawahi noted that the priority at this stage is to stop the leak, ensure the safety of the vessel, and safely remove its cargo. According to him, specialised companies, divers, and aircraft have been deployed as part of the operation.

Oman’s Environment Authority reported that the oil slick formed after the vessel ran aground has already spread across an area of 390 square kilometres and is located 7 kilometres from the vessel.

According to environmental monitoring data, the slick is moving northeast from the Al Hallaniyat Islands toward the mainland. The edge of the spill is approximately 7 kilometers from the coast. Specialists forecast that the contamination could spread another 121 kilometres over the next 48 hours, depending on weather conditions.

Meanwhile, Environment Authority chief Abdullah bin Ali al Amri emphasised that the bad weather hampering the specialists’ work is also helping push the oil slicks away from Omani beaches. He assured that the spill poses no threat to vital coastal facilities, including desalination plants, fish farms, and tourist areas.

09:09

A sanctioned tanker carrying nearly 1 million barrels of oil appears to have sunk further into waters off Oman, where it has remained grounded for several weeks, according to satellite images reviewed by The Associated Press (AP).

Crude oil has been leaking from the Caroline Bezengi and spreading rapidly in recent days, reaching the shores of Qibliyah Island off Oman’s southwestern coast.

As of August 7, the oil slick had covered nearly 800 square kilometres, according to Wim Zwijnenburg, an environmental expert with Dutch organisation PAX, which monitors environmental damage in conflict zones.

Greenpeace Germany, which has also been tracking the incident, said the spill is expanding, suggesting that the tanker’s condition is deteriorating.

The affected waters are part of the Arabian Sea reserve, a marine protected area that is home to endangered wildlife, including petrels and the rare Arabian Sea humpback whale.

The 247-meter Caroline Bezengi ran aground off Qibliyah Island in southwestern Oman after an explosion was reportedly detected on board on June 8.

The tanker is believed to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” and has been sanctioned by the British government and the European Union for transporting Russian oil. According to geospatial data tracking company SynMax Maritime, the vessel departed the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in May.

By Jeyhun Aghazada