Overview
- The 247-meter tanker Caroline Bezengi has been grounded off Qibliyah Island for weeks and is increasingly submerged while crude oil leaks from the hull.
- Satellite imagery and NGO analyses show the oil slick has expanded rapidly from tens of square kilometres in late July to roughly 600 square kilometres by Aug. 4 and nearly 800 square kilometres by Aug. 7.
- Greenpeace, PAX and other groups warn the spill is an urgent ecological crisis that could cause long-lasting harm to endangered petrels and the rare Arabian Sea humpback whale that use the marine protected area.
- Oman says it is monitoring the site with satellites, surveys and models and has teams ready to act, but there is no public confirmation of a large-scale salvage or containment operation so far.
- The tanker is linked to a sanctioned Russian 'shadow fleet,' was reported to have left Novorossiysk with nearly a million barrels, and its age and opaque ownership raise concerns about further structural failure and wider regional impacts during the monsoon season.