The tanker Caroline Bezengi, a vessel belonging to the Russian shadow fleet, has caused an oil spill near a marine protected area in Oman. The 274-meter-long tanker was sailing under the flag of Cameroon when the spill occurred.
According to the Oman environmental authority, the oil spill covers an area of 390 square kilometers. Other reports indicate different figures for the affected area: Greenpeace reported the spill increased to 600 square kilometers by August 4, while satellite imagery shows an oil slick of almost 800 square kilometers off the Hallaniyat Islands.
Crude oil carried by the Caroline Bezengi, valued at 44 million euros.
The vessel was carrying 110,000 tons of crude oil, which Greenpeace estimated to be 800,000 barrels. The tanker, built in 2001 at a South Korean shipyard, had previously been named SCF Altai.
Vessel history and sanctions
The Caroline Bezengi loaded cargo at the Russian port of Novorossiysk in the Black Sea in April and passed through the Suez Canal in late May. Explosions occurred on the tanker on June 6, and according to the vessel tracking portal Marine Traffic, the ship's last location signal from the area was on June 11. The crew of the vessel was rescued unharmed on June 12.
The tanker is subject to sanctions by the United States, the European Union, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Switzerland. The vessel is also listed by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The registered owner of the ship is Rentoor Shipmanagement Ltd, based in the Huangpu Qu district of Shanghai, China, and the manager is Villar Shipmanagement Ltd. While the Russian state shipping company Sovcomflot is considered the true owner, the vessel is part of the Russian shadow fleet, which consists of nearly 1,400 potentially old, uninsured, and third-country flagged vessels used to help Russia bypass Western sanctions.
Environmental concerns and response
The spill affects waters near islands that Hanen Keskes, a Greenpeace campaign organizer, identified as critical nesting sites for many seabirds and shores used by sea turtles for breeding. Keskes also noted that the rare Arabian Sea humpback whale lives in the surrounding waters.
This is a significant increase, which indicates a deterioration in the ship's condition.
On August 9, Abdullah bin Ali Al-Omari, head of the Oman environmental authority, announced that a national oil pollution response plan had been launched.
Greenpeace has demanded immediate intervention by international organizations to avert the risk of an unprecedented oil spill. The Dutch environmental and peace organization Pax has also called for international action.
