Sanctioned Tanker Caroline Bezengi Breaking Up on Omani Rocks, Major Oil Spill Feared

The sanctioned Russian dark fleet tanker Caroline Bezengi (159,168 DWT) is breaking up on rocks off Jazirat Al Qibliyyah in the Hallaniyat Islands off Oman's Dhofar coast, threatening a major environmental catastrophe in a protected marine zone.

The 274-metre vessel, built in 2001 and falsely flagged to Cameroon, loaded at Novorossiysk and was en route to India when an explosion was reported aboard on June 8. The ship subsequently grounded and appears to have been abandoned by its crew approximately three days after the explosion. The vessel is sanctioned by the EU, UK, and U.S. OFAC.

An Omani maritime authority survey conducted on July 12 found considerable deterioration since an aerial survey one week prior. All cargo tanks save one are breached and showing signs of seawater contamination. The vessel is sinking deeper and its list is increasing. Crude oil is leaking into ballast spaces and the double hull void, with fumes described as potentially explosive.

The vessel is fully laden and its exposed position on the rocks (with additional rocks off the port side and stern) leaves little margin for safe salvage operations, particularly during the current monsoon season. A salvage firm commissioned by Oman has identified a feasible lightering plan via a 1,000-yard pipeline to a receiving tanker, but progress has been frozen by legal obstacles. The listed owner has not responded to Omani authorities.

Unless salvage commences immediately, the vessel is expected to break up and spill its cargo into the Hallaniyat Islands Marine Buffer Zone - a strictly protected habitat for humpback whales, seabirds, and turtles - with contamination likely spreading along extensive stretches of the Dhofar coastline.