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Oman trying to contain extensive oil spill from stricken tanker
Al Jazeera • • world
Key Points:
- Oman is working to contain an oil spill covering nearly 400 square kilometers off its southern coast, originating from the tanker Caroline Bezengi stranded near al-Qibliyyah Island for over a month.
- The spill is within 7 km of the coast and concentrated around the ecologically sensitive Hallaniyat archipelago, a marine reserve established to protect diverse marine life including rare sea turtles.
- Authorities are conducting aerial surveillance, deploying divers, and developing plans to transfer the vessel’s oil cargo to mitigate environmental risks and ensure navigational safety.
- The tanker, carrying about one million barrels of crude oil, is part of Russia’s "shadow fleet" used to evade Western sanctions, and is subject to sanctions by the EU, UK, Canada, Ukraine, and Switzerland.
- Environmental groups warn the spill is nearing an environmental disaster, threatening coral reefs, turtle nesting sites, and other critical marine habitats in the protected area.
