Oman oil spill from grounded Caroline Bezengi spreads to protected shores

Beirut,UPDATED: Aug 5, 2026 00:56 IST

An oil spill from the UK-sanctioned tanker Caroline Bezengi, which has been grounded off Oman for weeks, appears to have expanded sharply, with satellite images showing it reaching shorelines and spreading far out into the sea. Experts who reviewed the images said the spill now covers an estimated 150 square kilometres, up from about 20 square kilometres a week earlier.

Greenpeace Germany said images from Sunday showed the oil sheen spreading northeast from the 274-metre Suezmax tanker and affecting large stretches of Qibliyah Island off Dhofar, Oman’s largest governorate. The affected area is part of the Arabian Sea reserve, a protected marine zone that is home to wildlife including endangered petrels and the rare Arabian Sea humpback whale.

"It is a drastic increase," said Nina Noelle of Greenpeace Germany, adding that a large amount of crude oil was clearly leaking. She said it was not clear what had caused the leak to grow. Wim Zwijnenburg, an environmental expert with the Dutch organisation PAX, said the sheen was a thin layer of oil that often evaporates depending on the type of crude and weather conditions. He added that thick black patches of oil had reached the southern and western shores of the island.

Zwijnenburg said the oil sheen appeared to be roughly 90 km long, nearly double its length a week earlier. He estimated that the tanker had been carrying more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil. Greenpeace Germany said in a statement, "This dramatic expansion (of the oil spill) underscores the serious and continuing environmental threat posed by the stranded tanker - and exemplifies the dangers associated with the practices of Russia's shadow fleet."

The tanker has been grounded since June, according to two shipping and maritime news outlets, which reported that the crew had reported an explosion on board at the time. AP said it could not independently confirm those reports. The UK government, in its decision to sanction the vessel, said it "has been or is likely to be involved in activity whose object or effect is to destabilize Ukraine" or to support the Russian government. The Cameroon-flagged tanker is also sanctioned by the European Union, Canada and Switzerland.

SynMax Maritime, a geospatial data tracking company, earlier said on X that it had obtained images in May showing the tanker at Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk before its most recent voyage. It is not clear where the ship was headed when it grounded off Oman. Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology had ordered the ship’s owners to remove it and its cargo by July 23, according to the Omani Muscat Daily, though it was not clear on Tuesday whether the owners had replied.

The spill from the grounded Caroline Bezengi has grown rapidly over the past week, with satellite images and experts indicating a wider spread across the sea and onto shorelines near a protected marine area, even as questions remain over the cause of the worsening leak and the response from the ship’s owners.

With PTI Inputs

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