Symbolic imageSlick spreads as sanctioned tanker leaks oil off Oman
A sanctioned tanker carrying an estimated 110,000 tonnes of crude is aground off Oman and leaking. Greenpeace puts the slick at around 600 square kilometres.
What happened
- The 270-metre "Caroline Bezengi", under EU sanctions, is counted as part of Russia's shadow fleet.
- Satellite images from Friday, 31 July show crude escaping; geodata firm Synmax says the ship most likely loaded at Novorossiysk.
- After an incident at sea in early June the tanker stopped transmitting position data; reports say it was bound for India.
- A full loss of the cargo would be nearly three times the oil of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska.
- Greenpeace lists coral reefs, sea turtles, migratory birds and marine mammals, including the rare Arabian humpback whale, as at risk.
What could happen next
- Oman's transport ministry has told the owners to remove the ship and its cargo from the area.
- Flag state and ownership stay unclear; reports point to a Chinese company traced to a Shanghai shell firm.
- Averting a full spill would probably require pumping the crude onto another tanker.
- The cause of the June incident is unresolved; FAZ reports speculation about a Ukrainian limpet mine, seen as logistically difficult.