{"id":631144,"date":"2026-08-11T06:13:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T06:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/631144\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T06:13:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T06:13:12","slug":"oman-says-grounded-tanker-oil-spill-covers-400-square-km","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/631144\/","title":{"rendered":"Oman says grounded tanker oil spill covers 400 square km"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul data-testid=\"Summary\" class=\"summary-module__summary__QjADA\">\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">First reported difficulty on June 8 off Yemen<\/li>\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">Grounded off Omani nature reserve<\/li>\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">Indications of a blast aboard, maritime security sources say<\/li>\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">Loaded with Russian crude bound for Asia<\/li>\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">Tanker subject to EU, other sanctions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Aug 10 (Reuters) &#8211; Leaking crude oil from a tanker grounded \u200boff a nature reserve in Oman has created a slick covering almost 400 square kilometres, the country&#8217;s government said on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>The Caroline \u200cBezengi is loaded with close to one million barrels of Russian oil bound for Asia and first reported difficulties on June 8 off Yemen, with two maritime security sources saying initial assessments indicated a blast had occurred onboard.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"promo-box\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf article-body-module__promo-box__hVl8h\"> Sign up  <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/oil-spill-off-oman-tanker-under-sanctions-against-russia-spreads-over-huge-area-2026-08-10\/undefined?location=article-paragraph&amp;redirectUrl=%2Fbusiness%2Fenergy%2Foil-spill-off-oman-tanker-under-sanctions-against-russia-spreads-over-huge-area-2026-08-10%2F\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>No party has taken responsibility for attacking the vessel.<\/p>\n<p>Oman, in its first public disclosure on the environmental impact, said on Monday it was seeking to \u200btackle the oil leak near the Hallaniyat Islands.<\/p>\n<p>Oman&#8217;s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik issued a royal decree last year creating a nature reserve around \u200bthe islands, an area that is home to wildlife including Arabian Sea humpback whales and Socotra cormorants.<\/p>\n<p>The oil slick covers \u2060some 390 square km (150 square miles), Oman&#8217;s Environment Authority said in a statement carried by the state news agency, adding there was no concern for facilities in \u200bthe area including water desalination plants and tourist facilities.<\/p>\n<p>It extends northeast of the islands and is within an estimated seven kilometres of the coast, the authority \u200bsaid.<\/p>\n<p>Environmental group Greenpeace last week estimated the slick at around 600 square kilometres, citing analysis of satellite imagery.<\/p>\n<p>A spill of this scale requires dispersant be sprayed across the affected area by aircraft and the use of booms and other equipment to collect the oil before it reaches the shore or sinks to the sea floor, said Tony Gutierrez, professor of environmental \u200bmicrobiology and biotechnology at Edinburgh&#8217;s Heriot-Watt University.<\/p>\n<p>Item 1 of 5 A satellite image shows the damaged vessel Caroline Bezengi and an oil slick off the Hallaniyat Islands, off the coast of Dhofar Governorate, Oman, August 5, 2026. Pl\u00e9iades \u00a9 CNES 2026, Distribution Airbus DS\/Handout via REUTERS<\/p>\n<p><b data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__medium__2Rl30 text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__ultra_small_body__WelUC primary-gallery-module__pagination__3IXiB\">[1\/5]<\/b>A satellite image shows the damaged vessel Caroline Bezengi and an oil slick off the Hallaniyat Islands, off the coast of Dhofar Governorate, Oman, August 5, 2026. Pl\u00e9iades \u00a9 CNES 2026,&#8230; <a data-testid=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reutersconnect.com\/item\/satellite-imagery-shows-damaged-vessel-caroline-bezengi-and-oil-slick-off-the-hallaniyat-islands\/dGFnOnJldXRlcnMuY29tLDIwMjY6bmV3c21sX1JDMlFWTUFDVjdQWg%3D%3D\/?utm_medium=rcom-article-media&amp;utm_campaign=rcom-rcp-lead\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC link-module__with-icon__qlg76 collapsible-caption-module__license__CPQvV\">Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab<\/a> Read more<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If this oil is kept offshore, the impact will be much less than if the oil reaches shallower waters \u200band the actual coastline,&#8221; he said, citing the impact on diverse marine life such as coral, birds and fish.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You could find oil still there years later. And that&#8217;s what happened \u200cwith Exxon \u2060Valdez. Ten years down the line, there still were remnants of oil,&#8221; he said, referring to a 1989 spill in Alaska.<\/p>\n<p>An analysis by Reuters of satellite imagery and shipping specialists showed the spill from the stranded 274-metre (900-foot) tanker was still spreading at the end of last month, raising concern about possible environmental damage.<\/p>\n<p>John Amos, CEO of SkyTruth, a nonprofit organization aiming to strengthen environmental conservation through the use of satellite images, said although the incident had been ongoing for more than two months, \u200bthere had not been any sign of \u200bvessel activity at the site to \u2060suggest a response to stabilize the Caroline Bezengi and remove the remaining oil cargo to prevent a catastrophic spill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe haven&#8217;t seen that on publicly available satellite imagery. We haven&#8217;t seen that on satellite-collected AIS tracking data. And that&#8217;s a \u200bconcern,\u201d Amos said.<\/p>\n<p>The Caroline Bezengi loaded at Russia&#8217;s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in April and passed through the \u200bSuez Canal at the \u2060end of May, ship-tracking data shows.<\/p>\n<p>Built in 2001, it is part of the so-called shadow fleet of older oil tankers used by Russia which lack Western insurance cover and sail under the flags of various nations to obscure their true ownership.<\/p>\n<p>It was listed on public shipping databases as flying the Cameroon flag but was among 39 \u2060vessels de-listed \u200bfrom Cameroon\u2019s ship registry in June.<\/p>\n<p>The ship is subject to sanctions imposed by the European Union, \u200bUkraine, the UK, Canada and Switzerland.<\/p>\n<p>Its registered owner is Rentoor Shipmanagement Ltd and its manager is Villar Shipmanagement Ltd, according to LSEG data. Reuters could not immediately reach those firms, which appear \u200bto be based in China.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"SignOff\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__extra_small__8Buss body-module__full_width__kCIGb body-module__extra_small_body__Bfz20 sign-off-module__text__LQAMP\">Reporting by Nayera Abdallah, Menna Alaa El-Din, Jonathan Saul, Kate Abnett and Catherine Cartier; editing by Barbara Lewis, Jason Neely and Nia Williams<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"Body\" dir=\"ltr\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf article-body-module__element__5eCce article-body-module__trust-badge__5mS3f\">Our Standards: <a data-testid=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thomsonreuters.com\/en\/about-us\/trust-principles.html\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__medium__2Rl30 text-module__small__sph8i link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC link-module__with-icon__qlg76\">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reutersagency.com\/en\/licensereuterscontent\/?utm_medium=rcom-article-media&amp;utm_campaign=rcom-rcp-lead\" target=\"_blank\" dir=\"ltr\" class=\"button-module__link__A3sD0 button-module__secondary__70gBu button-module__round__QDFgq button-module__w_auto__Sem-F\" data-testid=\"LicenceContentButton\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Purchase Licensing Rights<\/a><a data-testid=\"AuthorBioImageLink\" class=\"author-bio-module__author-image__jcaG3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/authors\/kate-abnett\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" tabindex=\"-1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__extra_small__8Buss body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__extra_small_body__Bfz20 author-bio-module__description__9ynkB\">Kate Abnett covers EU climate and energy policy in Brussels, reporting on Europe\u2019s green transition and how climate change is affecting people and ecosystems across the EU. Other areas of coverage include international climate diplomacy. Before joining Reuters, Kate covered emissions and energy markets for Argus Media in London. She is part of the teams whose reporting on Europe\u2019s energy crisis won two Reuters journalist of the year awards in 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"First reported difficulty on June 8 off Yemen Grounded off Omani nature reserve Indications of a blast aboard,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[269],"tags":[2786,82703,83369,82517,93089,53515,1802,83626,83800,82538,82545,82546,83395,82535,82556,82549,82541,82550,82776,93090,111454,82553,83396,82536,84041,83398,83397,83391,83399,83393,82580,82532,83620,82779,82969,82777,82547,82539,82557,82537,82540,82554,82552,83394,82548,82551,85719,3737,32133,82702,18,55396,83627,82578,83371,82571,440,4893,82520,83372,83373,45748,19,82505,82765,17,83375,84108,88029,82565,93088,82507,45751,104905,82780,82970,82508,83377,82509,83380,82756,93087,133,83381,83382,83383,83384,15170,84117,84119,83385,83386,82534,83366,82564,82533,82514,82515,82707,83388,1623,1545,22501],"class_list":["post-631144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-asia","tag-asxpac","tag-awlq","tag-ceeu","tag-cisc","tag-cn","tag-com","tag-cru","tag-cwp","tag-destabx","tag-destafa","tag-destbnx","tag-destc","tag-destcsa","tag-destd","tag-destdnp","tag-deste","tag-destfun","tag-destg","tag-destgbn","tag-destgfn","tag-destgns","tag-destgro","tag-destlby","tag-destm","tag-destmetop","tag-destmtl","tag-desto","tag-destocatpm","tag-destoil","tag-destortagm","tag-destouktpm","tag-destousnrg","tag-destoustpm","tag-destouswdm","tag-destpge","tag-destpsc","tag-destrast","tag-destrbn","tag-destreulb","tag-destrnp","tag-destrws","tag-destrwsa","tag-destsof","tag-destu","tag-destucdptest","tag-destz","tag-dip","tag-dis","tag-easia","tag-eire","tag-emea","tag-emeae","tag-emrg","tag-enr","tag-env","tag-environment","tag-eu","tag-europ","tag-ferrys","tag-frgt","tag-gen","tag-ie","tag-inds","tag-intag","tag-ireland","tag-marcar","tag-meast","tag-measte","tag-mtpix","tag-nasia","tag-news1","tag-nrg","tag-om","tag-packageus-top-news","tag-packageworld-news","tag-pol","tag-prtsv","tag-pssngr","tag-rrlp","tag-rsbiclimate-change","tag-ru","tag-science","tag-seaft","tag-seaft1","tag-sealog","tag-shpng","tag-sustainable-business","tag-swasia","tag-tglf","tag-tnkr","tag-tnsi","tag-topcmb","tag-topicmarkets-commodities-energy","tag-topicreuters-impact-top-stories","tag-topnws","tag-tpt","tag-tran","tag-trd","tag-trnspt","tag-ua","tag-war","tag-ye"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}