A new analysis of satellite images shows that an oil slick off the coast of Oman, which appeared after an accident involving a Russian tanker, has quadrupled in size over the past two days, reaching 600 square kilometers (about 232 square miles), according to a report by experts at Greenpeace Germany.
“This is a drastic increase, indicating a deterioration of the vessel’s condition. Satellite imagery analysis suggests that the oil spill covered 45 square kilometres up until 26 July. By 2 August it had expanded to around 150 square kilometres, and imagery from 4 August indicates that it now extends across roughly 600 square kilometres,” Greenpeace environmental disaster expert Nina Noelle said.
Greenpeace MENA campaigner Hanen Keskes said the oil threatens sea turtles and birds that use the Al Hallaniyat archipelago, near where the spill occurred, as a nesting site.
As The Insider previously reported, the tanker Caroline Bezengi (IMO 9224439), which ran aground off the coast of Oman in June, has become the source of an ongoing oil spill. The vessel, which has a deadweight tonnage of 159,168 tons and is 274 meters long, is grounded off Al Qibliyah island. The tanker ran aground on June 12 after a series of explosions, the cause of which remains unknown.
The formal owner of the Cameroon-flagged tanker is Rentoor Shipmanagement, a company registered in Shanghai. As an investigation by The Insider previously found, the Caroline Bezengi belongs to a group of tankers linked to the Cyprus-based company Lagosmarine Ltd. Those vessels regularly carried Russian oil from Primorsk, Ust-Luga, and Kozmino to India and China.
The investigation found that Caroline Bezengi’s routes coincided with shipments of oil bought from Russia’s Surgutneftegaz by Dubai-based companies linked to Latvian citizen Aleksejs Haļavins at prices above the G7 price cap.
Lagosmarine Ltd was later sanctioned by the United States and Ukraine. Caroline Bezengi is under sanctions from the European Union, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
